red hat enterprise linux es installation guideintroduction welcome to the red hat enterprise linux...

Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 2.1

Red Hat Enterprise Linux ESInstallation Guide

Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 2.1: Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES Installation GuideCopyright © 2003 by Red Hat, Inc.

Red Hat, Inc.

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rhel-ig-es-x86(EN)-2.1-HTML-RHI (2003-01-31T11:13-0400)Copyright © 2003 by Red Hat, Inc. This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in theOpen Publication License, V1.0 or later (the latest version is presently available at http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/).Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyrightholder.Distribution of the work or derivative of the work in any standard (paper) book form for commercial purposes is prohibitedunless prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder.Red Hat, Red Hat Network, the Red Hat "Shadow Man" logo, RPM, Maximum RPM, the RPM logo, Linux Library,PowerTools, Linux Undercover, RHmember, RHmember More, Rough Cuts, Rawhide and all Red Hat-based trademarks andlogos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and other countries.Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.Motif and UNIX are registered trademarks of The Open Group.Itanium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.Netscape is a registered trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries.Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.SSH and Secure Shell are trademarks of SSH Communications Security, Inc.FireWire is a trademark of Apple Computer Corporation.S/390 and zSeries are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.All other trademarks and copyrights referred to are the property of their respective owners.

Table of ContentsIntroduction.......................................................................................................................................... i

1. Document Conventions.......................................................................................................... i2. How to Use This Manual .....................................................................................................iii

2.1. We Need Feedback! ..............................................................................................iiiI. Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES ........................................................................................ i

1. Steps to Get You Started ....................................................................................................... 11.1. Do You Have the Right Components? ................................................................... 11.2. Is Your Hardware Compatible?.............................................................................. 11.3. Do You Have Enough Disk Space?........................................................................ 21.4. Can You Install Using the CD-ROM?.................................................................... 31.5. Which Installation Class is Best For You?............................................................. 5

2. System Requirements Table.................................................................................................. 93. Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.............................................................................. 11

3.1. The Installation Program User Interface.............................................................. 113.2. Starting the Installation Program ......................................................................... 113.3. Selecting an Installation Method ......................................................................... 143.4. Beginning the Installation .................................................................................... 153.5. Language Selection.............................................................................................. 163.6. Keyboard Configuration....................................................................................... 173.7. Mouse Configuration ........................................................................................... 183.8. Welcome to Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES .......................................................... 193.9. Install Options...................................................................................................... 193.10. Disk Partitioning Setup ...................................................................................... 203.11. Automatic Partitioning....................................................................................... 213.12. Partitioning Your System ................................................................................... 233.13. Partitioning with fdisk ....................................................................................... 293.14. Boot Loader Installation .................................................................................... 293.15. GRUB Password ................................................................................................ 323.16. Network Configuration ...................................................................................... 333.17. Firewall Configuration ....................................................................................... 343.18. Language Support Selection .............................................................................. 373.19. Time Zone Configuration................................................................................... 383.20. Account Configuration....................................................................................... 393.21. Package Group Selection ................................................................................... 413.22. X Configuration — Video Card ......................................................................... 443.23. Preparing to Install ............................................................................................. 453.24. Installing Packages............................................................................................. 463.25. Boot Disk Creation ............................................................................................ 463.26. X Configuration — Monitor and Customization ............................................... 473.27. Installation Complete ......................................................................................... 49

4. Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES via Text Mode ..................................................... 514.1. Things You Should Know.................................................................................... 514.2. The Installation Program User Interface.............................................................. 524.3. Starting the Installation Program ......................................................................... 544.4. Installation Cross-Reference Table ...................................................................... 554.5. Installing from a Hard Drive ................................................................................ 564.6. Installing over a Network..................................................................................... 57

II. Appendixes ................................................................................................................................... 61A. Removing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES ........................................................................... 63B. Getting Technical Support.................................................................................................. 65

B.1. Remember to Sign Up......................................................................................... 65B.2. An Overview of Red Hat Support ....................................................................... 65B.3. Scope of Red Hat Support ................................................................................... 66B.4. How to Get Technical Support ............................................................................ 66B.5. Questions for Technical Support ......................................................................... 68

C. Troubleshooting Your Installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.................................. 69C.1. You are Unable to Boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES ....................................... 69C.2. Trouble Beginning the Installation...................................................................... 69C.3. Trouble During the Installation ........................................................................... 70C.4. Problems After Installation ................................................................................. 72

D. An Introduction to Disk Partitions ..................................................................................... 77D.1. Hard Disk Basic Concepts .................................................................................. 77

E. Driver Disks........................................................................................................................ 93E.1. Why Do I Need a Driver Disk? ........................................................................... 93

Index................................................................................................................................................... 95

Introduction

Welcome to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES Installation Guide. This guide contains useful informa-tion to assist you during the installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES. From fundamental conceptssuch as installation preparation to the step-by-step installation procedure, this book will be a valuableresource as you install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.

This manual will walk you through a typical installation using the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES CD-ROMs. Once you have completed the installation as outlined in this manual, you will have a fullyfunctioning Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES system.

1. Document ConventionsWhen you read this manual, you will see that certain words are represented in different fonts, type-faces, sizes, and weights. This highlighting is systematic; different words are represented in the samestyle to indicate their inclusion in a specific category. The types of words that are represented this wayinclude the following:

command

Linux commands (and other operating system commands, when used) are represented this way.This style should indicate to you that you can type the word or phrase on the command lineand press [Enter] to invoke a command. Sometimes a command contains words that would bedisplayed in a different style on their own (such as filenames). In these cases, they are consideredto be part of the command, so the entire phrase will be displayed as a command. For example:

Use the cat testfile command to view the contents of a file, named testfile, in the currentworking directory.

filename

Filenames, directory names, paths, and RPM package names are represented this way. This styleshould indicate that a particular file or directory exists by that name on your Red Hat Linuxsystem. Examples:

The .bashrc file in your home directory contains bash shell definitions and aliases for your ownuse.

The /etc/fstab file contains information about different system devices and filesystems.

Install the webalizer RPM if you want to use a Web server log file analysis program.

applicationThis style should indicate to you that the program named is an end-user application (as opposedto system software). For example:

Use Netscape Navigator to browse the Web.

[key]

A key on the keyboard is shown in this style. For example:

To use [Tab] completion, type in a character and then press the [Tab] key. Your terminal willdisplay the list of files in the directory that start with that letter.

[key]-[combination]

A combination of keystrokes is represented in this way. For example:

The [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Backspace] key combination will restart the X Window System.

ii Introduction

text found on a GUI interfaceA title, word, or phrase found on a GUI interface screen or window will be shown in this style.

When you see text shown in this style, it is being used to identify a particular GUI screen or anelement on a GUI screen (such as text associated with a checkbox or field). Example:

Select the Require Password checkbox if you would like your screensaver to require a passwordbefore stopping.

top level of a menu on a GUI screen or windowWhen you see a word in this style, it indicates that the word is the top level of a pulldown menu.If you click on the word on the GUI screen, the rest of the menu should appear. For example:

Under Settings on a GNOME terminal, you will see the following menu items: Preferences,Reset Terminal, Reset and Clear, and Color selector.

If you need to type in a sequence of commands from a GUI menu, they will be shown like thefollowing example:

Click on Programs=>Applications=>Emacs to start the Emacs text editor.

button on a GUI screen or windowThis style indicates that the text will be found on a clickable button on a GUI screen. For

example:

Click on the Back button to return to the webpage you last viewed.

computer output

When you see text in this style, it indicates text displayed by the computer on the command line.You will see responses to commands you typed in, error messages, and interactive prompts foryour input during scripts or programs shown this way. For example:

Use the ls command to display the contents of a directory:$ lsDesktop axhome logs paulwesterberg.gifMail backupfiles mail reports

The output returned in response to the command (in this case, the contents of the directory) isshown in this style.

prompt

A prompt, which is a computer’s way of signifying that it is ready for you to input something,will be shown in this style. Examples:

$

#

[stephen@maturin stephen]$

leopard login:

user input

Text that the user has to type, either on the command line, or into a text box on a GUI screen, isdisplayed in this style. In the following example, text is displayed in this style:

To boot your system into the text based installation program, you will need to type in the textcommand at the boot: prompt.

Additionally, we use several different strategies to draw your attention to certain pieces of information.In order of how critical the information is to your system, these items will be marked as note, tip,important, caution, or a warning. For example:

Introduction iii

Note

Remember that Linux is case sensitive. In other words, a rose is not a ROSE is not a rOsE.

Tip

The directory /usr/share/doc contains additional documentation for packages installed on yoursystem.

Important

If you modify the DHCP configuration file, the changes will not take effect until you restart the DHCPdaemon.

Caution

Do not perform routine tasks as root — use a regular user account unless you need to use the rootaccount for system administration tasks.

Warning

If you choose not to partition manually, a server installation will remove all existing partitions on allinstalled hard drives. Do not choose this installation class unless you are sure you have no data youneed to save.

2. How to Use This ManualThis manual focuses on a CD-ROM based installation, so it is ideal for users (both new and old) whowant a quick and simple installation solution. It will help you prepare your system, walk you throughthe installation, and assist you in the configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.

If you are an experienced user who wants to perform a Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES CD-ROM in-stallation, and you do not need a review of the basics, you can skip ahead to Chapter 3 to begin theinstallation process.

Tip

Refer to the Red Hat Frequently Asked Questions for answers to questions and problems that mayoccur before, during, or after the installation. You will find the FAQ online at:

http://www.redhat.com/support/docs/faqs/rhl_general_faq/

iv Introduction

2.1. We Need Feedback!If you spot a typo in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES Installation Guide, or if you have thought of away to make this manual better, we would love to hear from you! Please submit a report in Bugzilla(http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/) against the component rhel-ig-es-x86.

Be sure to mention the manual’s identifier:

rhel-ig-es-x86(EN)-2.1-HTML-RHI (2003-01-31T11:13-0400)

That way we will know exactly which version of the guide you have.

If you have a suggestion for improving the documentation, try to be as specific as possible when de-scribing it. If you have found an error, please include the section number and some of the surroundingtext so we can find it easily.

If you have a support question (for example, if you need help configuring X, or if you are not sure howto partition your hard drive[s]), please register your product at http://www.redhat.com/apps/activate/and use the online support system for those type of requests.

I. Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ESTable of Contents1. Steps to Get You Started................................................................................................................. 12. System Requirements Table ........................................................................................................... 93. Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES..................................................................................... 114. Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES via Text Mode ........................................................... 51

Chapter 1.

Steps to Get You Started

Before you install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, you should perform the following steps:

1.1. Do You Have the Right Components?If you have purchased an Official Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES product, you are ready to go. However,mistakes occasionally happen, so now is a good time to double-check the contents of your product.

A black, red, and white Registration Information card is included with your product. A list of thecontents of your boxed set version is on the back of the card. Please read over the list and checkto make sure that you have all the CDs and manuals that are included with the version of Red HatEnterprise Linux ES that you purchased.

If you have purchased an Official Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES product from Red Hat, Inc. (or oneof its distributors), and you are missing one or more of the items listed, please let us know. Contactinformation is also available on the Registration Information card.

How to identify our official boxed set: The bottom of our box has an ISBN number next to one of thebar codes. That ISBN number should be in this form:

1-58569-x-y

(The x and y will be unique numbers.)

Red Hat partners with companies (international and domestic) so that we can make Red Hat EnterpriseLinux ES available to you in the most convenient form. Because of these partnerships, you might findthat your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES product may not have been actually produced by Red Hat.

If your product has a different ISBN number (or none at all), you will need to contact the companythat produced it. Normally, third-party producers will include their logo and/or contact informationon the outside of their box; an official Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES boxed set lists only our name andcontact information.

1.1.1. Where to Find Other ManualsIf your particular product did not include all of the printed Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES manuals, youcan find them online or on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES Documentation CD included with yourofficial Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES product.

To find the manuals in both HTML and PDF formats online, go to http://www.redhat.com/docs.

1.1.2. Registering Your ProductIf you have purchased an Official Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES product, you should register yourproduct. Registration offers many useful services, such as installation support, access to Red HatNetwork, and more.

To register your product, go to http://www.redhat.com/apps/activate/. You will find your Product IDon the Registration Information card in your Official Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES boxed set. Onceregistered, you will have access to all the extras that Red Hat provides to its registered users.

For more information on registering and the scope of Red Hat technical support offerings, see Ap-pendix B.

2 Chapter 1. Steps to Get You Started

1.2. Is Your Hardware Compatible?Hardware compatibility is particularly important if you have an older system or a system that you builtyourself. Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 2.1 should be compatible with most hardware in systems thatwere factory built within the last two years. However, hardware specifications change almost daily, soit is hard to guarantee that your hardware will be 100% compatible.

The most recent list of supported hardware can be found at http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/.

1.3. Do You Have Enough Disk Space?Nearly every modern-day operating system (OS) uses disk partitions, and Red Hat Enterprise LinuxES is no exception. When you install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, you may have to work with diskpartitions. If you have not worked with disk partitions before (or need a quick review of the basicconcepts) read Appendix D before proceeding.

The disk space used by Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES must be separate from the disk space used byother OSes you might have installed on your system , such as Windows, OS/2, or even a differentversion of Linux. At least two partitions (/ and swap) must be dedicated to Red Hat Enterprise LinuxES.

Before you start the installation process, one of the following conditions must be met:

• Your computer must have enough unpartitioned1 disk space for the installation of Red Hat Enter-prise Linux ES.

• You must have one or more partitions that may be deleted, thereby freeing up enough disk space toinstall Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.

1.3.1. Installation Disk Space Requirements

Note

These recommendations are based on an installation that only installs one language (such as En-glish). If you plan to install multiple languages to use on your system, you should increase the diskspace requirements.

See Section 1.5, for further information regarding disk space requirements for your specific installa-tion needs.

Server

For a Server installation, choosing to install GNOME2 or KDE3, requires at least 1.0 GB of free

1. Unpartitioned disk space means that the hard drive(s) you are installing to have not been divided into sections

for data. When you partition a disk, each partition will behave like a separate disk drive.2. Acronym for GNU Network Object Model Environment. GNOME is part of the GNU project and part of

the free software, or open source, movement. GNOME is a Windows-like desktop system that works on UNIX

and UNIX-like systems. The main objective of GNOME is to provide a user-friendly suite of applications and an

easy-to-use desktop.3. Acronym for K Desktop Environment. A network-transparent, contemporary desktop environment for UNIX

workstations, KDE is part of the open source movement. It is free to anyone and its source code is available to

anyone to modify.

Chapter 1. Steps to Get You Started 3

space. Choosing both GNOME and KDE requires at least 1.3 GB of free disk space.

Custom

A Custom installation requires for a minimal installation (without the Server packages) and atleast 3.2 GB of free space if every package is selected.

If you are not sure that you meet these conditions, or if you want to know how to create free diskspace for your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation, please refer to Appendix D.

1.4. Can You Install Using the CD-ROM?There are several methods that can be used to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES. This manualfocuses on installing from the CD-ROM. For instructions on alternative installation methods, refer toChapter 4.

Installing from a CD-ROM requires that you have purchased a Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 2.1product, or you have a Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES CD-ROM, and you have a CD-ROM drive. Mostnew computers will allow booting from the CD-ROM. If your system will support booting from theCD-ROM, it is an easy way to begin a local CD-ROM installation.

Your BIOS may need to be changed to allow booting from your CD-ROM drive. For more informationabout editing your BIOS, see Section 3.2.1.

1.4.1. Alternative Boot MethodsIf you cannot boot from the CD-ROM drive, the following alternative boot method is available:

Local Boot Disk

If you need a local boot disk4, you must create it. The local boot disk image file, boot.img,is located in the images directory on your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES CD-ROM. Refer toSection 1.4.2, for more information on making a boot disk.

Note

USB Floppies — You can also boot the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation program using aUSB floppy as a boot disk (if your system supports booting from a USB floppy).

Note

Although it is not required to boot your installation, you may occasionally find that a driver disk isneeded to continue with the installation. Appendix E explains why a driver disk may be necessary foryour installation, and how to obtain one if needed.

4. A boot disk is a diskette you create during an installation that can later be used to boot the operating system.

Normally, your computer boots from a hard disk, but if the hard disk is damaged, you can boot the computer from

a bootable diskette.


1.4.2. Making Installation DiskettesYou may need to create a diskette from an image file; for example, you may need to useupdated diskette images obtained from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES errata page(http://www.redhat.com/apps/support/errata) or you may need to create a boot disk.

An image file contains an exact copy (or image) of a diskette’s contents. Since a diskette containsfilesystem information in addition to the data contained in files, the image file is not usable until it hasbeen written to a diskette.

To start, you will need a blank, formatted, high-density (1.44MB), 3.5-inch diskette. You will needaccess to a computer with a 3.5-inch diskette drive. The computer must be able to run either an MS-DOS program or the dd utility found on most Linux-like operating systems.

The images directory on your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES CD-ROM contains the boot images.Once you have selected the proper image (such as boot.img for a CD-ROM-based installation orbootnet.img for a network installation), transfer the image file onto a diskette.

1.4.2.1. Using the rawrite Utility

To make a diskette using MS-DOS, use the rawrite utility included on the Red Hat Enterprise LinuxES CD-ROM in the dosutils directory. First, label a blank, formatted 3.5-inch diskette appropriately(such as "Boot Disk" or "Updates Disk"). Insert it into the diskette drive. Then, use the followingcommands (assuming your CD-ROM is drive d:):

C:\� d:

D:\� cd \dosutils

D:\dosutils� rawrite

Enter disk image source file name: ..\images\boot.imgEnter target diskette drive: a:Please insert a formatted diskette into drive A: andpress --ENTER-- : [Enter]D:\dosutils

�

First, rawrite asks you for the filename of a diskette image; enter the directory and name of theimage you wish to write (for example, ..\images\boot.img). Then rawrite asks for a diskettedrive to write the image to; enter a:. Finally, rawrite asks for confirmation that a formatted disketteis in the drive you have selected. After pressing [Enter] to confirm, rawrite copies the image fileonto the diskette. If you need to make another diskette, label that diskette, and run rawrite again,specifying the appropriate image file.

1.4.2.2. Using the dd Command

To make a diskette under Linux (or any other Linux-like operating system), you must have permissionto write to the device representing a 3.5-inch diskette drive (known as /dev/fd0 under Linux).

First, label a blank, formatted diskette appropriately (such as "Boot Disk" or "Updates Disk"). Insertit into the diskette drive (but do not issue a mount5 command). After mounting the Red Hat EnterpriseLinux ES CD-ROM, change to the directory containing the desired image file, and use the followingcommand (changing the name of the image file and diskette device as appropriate):

# dd if=boot.img of=/dev/fd0 bs=1440k

To make another diskette, label that diskette, and run dd again, specifying the appropriate image file.

5. When you mount a floppy or CD-ROM, you make that device’s contents available to you. See the Official

Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide for more information.


1.5. Which Installation Class is Best For You?Usually, Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES is installed on its own disk partition or set of partitions, or overanother installation of Linux.

Warning

Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES over another installation of Linux (including Red Hat Linux)does not preserve any information (files or data) from a prior installation. Make sure you save or backup any important files!

Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES provides two different classes, or types, of installations:

Server

The Server configuration includes, at your option, the ability to install a default X Window Sys-tem environment with management.

Custom

A Custom installation allows you the greatest flexibility during your installation. You chooseyour boot loader, which packages you want, and more. Custom installations are most appropriatefor those users more familiar with Red Hat Linux installations and for those afraid of losingcomplete flexibility.

These classes give you the option of simplifying the installation process (with some potential for lossof configuration flexibility), or retaining flexibility with a slightly more complex installation process.Next, take a detailed look at each class, so you can decide which one is right for you.

1.5.1. Server InstallationBelow are the minimum recommended disk space requirements for a Server installation where onlyone language (such as English) will be installed.

Note

The minimum recommended disk space requirements as listed below, are just minimum recommen-dations for the installation itself. You should adjust these disk space requirements as appropriate foryour specific computing needs (such as disk space for personal files, additional applications you mayinstall at a later time, and so on).

• Server (minimum, no graphical interface): 800 MB

• Server (default, choosing GNOME or KDE): 1 GB

• Server (choosing GNOME and KDE): 1.3 GB

• Server (choosing everything, GNOME and KDE): 1.5 GB

If you plan to choose all group packages, as well as select additional individual packages, you maywant to allow yourself 2.0 GB or more of disk space. This will provide space where additional datamay be written.


1.5.1.1. What a Server Installation Will Do

A Server installation, with automatic partitioning, will create the following partitions:

Note

The partitions represented below were created on a system with 9 GB of hard drive space and 512MB of RAM. Depending on the amount of hard drive space and memory you have available, thesevalues may differ slightly.

• A 47 MB partition (mounted as /boot) in which the Linux kernel and related files are kept.

• A partition of at least 4877 MB (mounted as /usr).

• The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amountof space available on your hard drive. If you have 128 MB of RAM, then the swap partition createdcan be 128 MB – 256 MB (twice your RAM), depending on how much disk space is available.

For this example, a 1020 MB swap partition (mounted as � swap � ) is created.

• A 2738 MB ext partition.

• A partition of at least 2094 MB (mounted as /home).

• A 384 MB partition (mounted as /).

• A 259 MB partition (mounted as /var).

This partitioning scheme offers a reasonably flexible filesystem configuration for most server tasks.

1.5.2. Custom InstallationsThe Custom installation allows you the most flexibility during your installation. During a Custominstallation, you have complete control over the packages that will be installed on your system.

The recommended disk space requirements for a Custom installation are as follows:

Note

The minimum recommended disk space requirements as listed below, are just minimum recommen-dations for the installation itself. You should adjust these disk space requirements as appropriate foryour specific computing needs (such as disk space for personal files, additional applications you mayinstall at a later time, and so on).

• Custom (minimum, without Server packages): 350 MB

• Custom (minimum, with Server packages): 500 MB

• Custom (default): 1 GB

• Custom (choosing everything): 3.2 GB


1.5.2.1. What a Custom Installation Will Do

As you might guess from the name, a custom installation puts the emphasis on flexibility. You havecomplete control over which packages will be installed on your system.

If you choose automatic partitioning, a Custom installation will create the following partitions:

Note

The partitions represented below were created on a system with 9 GB of hard drive space and 512MB of RAM. Depending on the amount of hard drive space and memory you have available, thesevalues may differ slightly.

• The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amountof space available on your hard drive. If you have 128 MB of RAM, then the swap partition createdcan be 128 MB – 256 MB (twice your RAM), depending on how much disk space is available.

For this example, a 1020 MB swap partition (mounted as � swap � ) is created.

• A 47 MB partition (mounted as /boot) in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.

• A 2609 MB root partition (mounted as /) in which all other files are stored (the exact size of thispartition is dependent on your available disk space).

Chapter 2.

System Requirements Table

The most recent list of supported hardware can be found at http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/.

This chapter provides you with a system requirements table, which will help you keep a record of yourcurrent system settings and requirements. Enter information about your system in the table providedas a handy reference to help make your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation go more smoothly.

hard drive(s): type, label,size; ex: IDE hda=1.2 GB

partitions: map ofpartitions and mountpoints; ex:/dev/hda1=/home,/dev/hda2=/ (fill this inonce you know where theywill reside)

memory: amount of RAMinstalled on your system;ex: 64 MB, 128 MB

CD-ROM: interface type;ex: SCSI, IDE (ATAPI)

SCSI adapter: if present,make and model number;ex: BusLogic SCSIAdapter, Adaptec2940UW

network card: if present,make and model number;ex: Tulip, 3COM 3C590

mouse: type, protocol, andnumber of buttons; ex:generic 3 button PS/2mouse, MouseMan 2button serial mouse

monitor: make, model,and manufacturerspecifications; ex:Optiquest Q53, ViewSonicG773

video card: make, modelnumber and size ofVRAM; ex: Creative LabsGraphics Blaster 3D, 8MB

10 Chapter 2. System Requirements Table

sound card: make, chipsetand model number; ex: S3SonicVibes, Sound Blaster32/64 AWE

IP, DHCP, and BOOTPaddresses: four numbers,separated by dots; ex:10.0.2.15

netmask: four numbers,separated by dots; ex:255.255.248.0

gateway IP address: fournumbers, separated bydots; ex: 10.0.2.245

one or more name serverIP addresses (DNS): oneor more sets ofdot-separated numbers; ex:10.0.2.1

domain name: the namegiven to your organization;ex: for Red Hat, thiswould be redhat.com

hostname: the name ofyour computer; yourpersonal choice of names;ex: cookie, southpark

Table 2-1. System Requirements Table

If any of these networking requirements or terms are unfamiliar to you, contact your network admin-istrator for assistance.

Chapter 3.

Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES

This chapter explains how to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES from the CD-ROM using the graph-ical, mouse-based installation program. The following topics are discussed:

• Getting familiar with the installation program’s user interface

• Starting the installation program

• Selecting an installation method

• Configuration steps during the installation (language, keyboard, mouse, etc.)

• Finishing the installation

3.1. The Installation Program User InterfaceIf you have used a graphical user interface (GUI) before, you will be familiar with this process;simply use your mouse to navigate the screens, "click" buttons, or enter text fields. You can alsonavigate through the installation using the [Tab] and [Enter] keys.

3.1.1. A Note about Virtual ConsolesThe Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation program offers more than the dialog boxes of the in-stallation process. Several different kinds of diagnostic messages are available to you, in additionto providing a way to enter commands from a shell prompt. The installation program displays thesemessages on five virtual consoles, among which you can switch using a single keystroke combination.

These virtual consoles can be helpful if you encounter a problem while installing Red Hat EnterpriseLinux ES. Messages displayed on the installation or system consoles can help pinpoint a problem.Please see Table 3-1 for a listing of the virtual consoles, keystrokes used to switch to them, and theircontents.

Console Keystrokes Contents

1 [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F1] installation dialog

2 [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F2] shell prompt

3 [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F3] install log (messages frominstallation program)

4 [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F4] system-related messages

5 [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F5] other messages

7 [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F7] X graphical display

Table 3-1. Console, Keystrokes, and Contents

Generally, there is no reason to leave the default console (virtual console #7) unless you are attemptingto diagnose installation problems.

12 Chapter 3. Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES

3.2. Starting the Installation ProgramTo start the installation, you must first boot the installation program. Please make sure you have all theresources you will need for the installation. If you have already read through Chapter 1, and followedthe instructions, you should be ready to begin.

Note

Occasionally, some hardware components require a driver disk during the installation. A driver diskadds support for hardware that is not otherwise supported by the installation program. Refer to Ap-pendix E for more information.

3.2.1. Booting the Installation Program

Note

To create a boot disk, refer to Section 1.4.2.

You can boot the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation program using any one of the followingmedia (depending upon what your system can support):

• Bootable CD-ROM — Your machine supports a bootable CD-ROM drive and you want to performa local CD-ROM installation.

• Local boot disk — Your machine will not support a bootable CD-ROM and you want to install froma local CD-ROM or a hard drive.

• Network boot disk — Use a network boot disk to install via NFS, FTP, and HTTP.

Insert the boot disk into your computer’s first diskette drive and reboot (or boot using the CD-ROM,if your computer supports booting from it). Your BIOS settings may need to be changed to allow youto boot from the diskette or CD-ROM.

Tip

To change your BIOS settings, watch the instructions provided on your display when your computerfirst begins to boot. Often you will see a line of text telling you to press the [Del] or [F1] key to enterthe BIOS settings.

Once you’ve entered your BIOS setup program, find the section where you can alter your boot se-quence. The default is often C, A or A, C (depending on whether you boot from your hard drive [C]or a diskette drive [A]). Change this sequence so that the CD-ROM is first in your boot order and thatC or A (whichever is your typical boot default) is second. This instructs the computer to first look atthe CD-ROM drive for bootable media; if it does not find bootable media on the CD-ROM drive, it willthen check your hard drive or diskette drive.

Save your changes before exiting the BIOS. For more information, please refer to the documentationthat came with your system.

After a short delay, a screen containing the boot: prompt should appear. The screen contains infor-mation on a variety of boot options. Each boot option also has one or more help screens associatedwith it. To access a help screen, press the appropriate function key as listed in the line at the bottomof the screen.

Chapter 3. Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 13

As you boot the installation program, be aware of two issues:

• Once you see the boot: prompt, the installation program will automatically begin if you take noaction within the first minute. To disable this feature, press one of the help screen function keys.

• If you press a help screen function key, there will be a slight delay while the help screen is readfrom the boot media.

Normally, you only need to press [Enter] to boot. Watch the boot messages to see if the Linux kerneldetects your hardware. If your hardware is properly detected, please continue to the next section. If itdoes not properly detect your hardware, you may need to restart the installation in expert mode.

3.2.1.1. Additional Boot Options

If you do not wish to perform a CD-ROM GUI installation, you can start a text mode installation usingthe following boot command:

boot: text

For text mode installation instructions, please refer to Chapter 4.

If you are having trouble booting into the graphical installation program, you can try to boot using theno framebuffer (nofb) boot option.

At the boot command, enter the following:

boot: nofb

This option allows you to use the graphical installation program without using a framebuffer.

Enter expert mode using the following boot command:

boot: linux expert

If you need to perform the installation in serial mode, type the following command:

boot: linux console= � device �

In the above command, � device � should be the device you are using (such as ttyS0 or ttyS1). Forexample, linux console=ttyS0,115200n8.

3.2.1.2. Kernel Options

Options can also be passed to the kernel. For example, to instruct the kernel to use all the RAM in asystem with 128 MB of RAM, enter:

boot: linux mem=128M

After entering any options, press [Enter] to boot using those options.

If you need to specify boot options to identify your hardware, please write them down. The bootoptions will be needed during the boot loader configuration portion of the installation (please seeSection 3.14 for more information).


3.2.1.3. Booting Without Diskettes

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES CD-ROM can be booted by computers that support bootable CD-ROMs. Not all computers support this feature, so if your system cannot boot from the CD-ROM, thereis one other way to start the installation without using a boot disk. The following method is specificto x86-based computers only.

If you have MS-DOS installed on your system, you can boot directly from the CD-ROM drive withoutusing a boot disk. To do this (assuming your CD-ROM is drive d:), use the following commands:

C:\ d:D:\ cd \dosutilsD:\dosutils autoboot.bat

This method will not work if run in a DOS window — the autoboot.bat file must be executed withDOS as the only operating system. In other words, Windows cannot be running.

If your computer cannot boot directly from CD-ROM (and you cannot use a DOS-based autoboot),you will have to use a boot diskette to get things started.

3.3. Selecting an Installation MethodWhat type of installation method do you wish to use? The following installation methods are available:

CD-ROM

If you have a CD-ROM drive and the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES CD-ROM, you can use thismethod. You will need a boot disk or a bootable CD-ROM. PCMCIA boot and driver disks mayalso be used. Continue reading this chapter for further instructions.

Hard Drive

If you have copied the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES ISO images to a local hard drive, you canuse this method. You will need a boot disk. PCMCIA boot and driver disks may also be used.Refer to Chapter 4, for hard drive installation instructions.

NFS Image

If you are installing from an NFS server which is exporting the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ESCD-ROM(s) or a mirror image of *PROD;, you can use this method. You will need a networkboot disk. PCMCIA boot and driver disks may also be used. Refer to Chapter 4, for networkinstallation instructions. Please note that NFS installations may also be performed in GUI mode.

FTP

If you are installing directly from an FTP server, use this method. You will need a network bootdisk. PCMCIA boot and driver disks may also be used. Refer to Chapter 4, for FTP installationinstructions.


HTTP

If you are installing directly from an HTTP (Web) server, use this method. You will need anetwork boot disk. PCMCIA boot and driver disks may also be used. Refer to Chapter 4, forHTTP installation instructions.

3.4. Beginning the InstallationIf you are planning to install via CD-ROM using the graphical interface, please continue reading.

If you would rather perform a text mode installation, reboot your system and at the boot: prompt,type text. Refer to Chapter 4, for more information.

3.4.1. Installing from CD-ROMTo install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES from a CD-ROM, choose the CD-ROM option from the bootloader screen and select OK. When prompted, insert the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES CD into yourCD-ROM drive (if you did not boot from the CD-ROM). Once the CD is in the CD-ROM drive, selectOK, and press [Enter].

The installation program will then probe your system and attempt to identify your CD-ROM drive. Itwill start by looking for an IDE (also known as an ATAPI) CD-ROM drive. If found, it will continueto the next stage of the installation process (see Section 3.5).

Note

To abort the installation process at this time, reboot your machine and then eject the boot diskette orCD-ROM. You can safely cancel the installation at any point before the About to Install screen. SeeSection 3.23, for more information.

If a CD-ROM drive is not detected, you will be asked what type of CD-ROM drive you have. Choosefrom the following types:

SCSI

Select this if your CD-ROM drive is attached to a supported SCSI adapter; the installationprogram will then ask you to choose a SCSI driver. Choose the driver that most closely resemblesyour adapter. You may specify options for the driver if necessary; however, most drivers willdetect your SCSI adapter automatically.

Other

If your CD-ROM drive is neither an IDE nor a SCSI, it is an "other." Sound cards with propri-etary CD-ROM interfaces are good examples of CD-ROMs in the Other category. The installa-tion program will display a list of drivers for supported CD-ROM drives — choose a driver and,if necessary, specify any driver options.

Tip

A partial list of optional parameters for CD-ROM drives can be found in the Official Red Hat LinuxReference Guide, in the General Parameters and Modules appendix.


3.4.1.1. What If the IDE CD-ROM Was Not Found?

If you have an IDE (ATAPI) CD-ROM, but the installation program fails to find your it and asks youwhat type of CD-ROM drive you have, try the following boot command. Restart the installation, andat the boot: prompt enter linux hdX=cdrom. Replace the X with one of the following letters,depending on the interface the unit is connected to, and whether it is configured as master or slave:

• a — first IDE controller, master

• b — first IDE controller, slave

• c — second IDE controller, master

• d — second IDE controller, slave

If you have a third and/or fourth controller, continue assigning letters in alphabetical order, going fromcontroller to controller, and master to slave.

3.5. Language SelectionUsing your mouse, select the language you would prefer to use for the installation and as the systemdefault (see Figure 3-1).

Selecting the appropriate language will also help target your time zone configuration later in theinstallation. The installation program will try to define the appropriate time zone based on what youspecify on this screen.

Once you select the appropriate language, click Next to continue.

Figure 3-1. Language Selection


3.6. Keyboard ConfigurationChoose the keyboard model that best fits your system (see Figure 3-2). If you cannot find an exactmatch, choose the best Generic match for your keyboard type (for example, Generic 101-key PC).

Next, choose the correct layout type for your keyboard (for example, U.S. English).

Creating special characters with multiple keystrokes (such as Ñ, Ô, and Ç) is done using "dead keys"(also known as compose key sequences). Dead keys are enabled by default. If you do not wish to usethem, select Disable dead keys.

Tip

The following example will help you determine if you need dead keys enabled. An example of a deadkey is the backspace (^H) key on a US English 101 Standard Keyboard. Dead keys are not exclusiveto non-English keyboards.

To test your keyboard configuration, use the blank text field at the bottom of the screen to enter text.

Once you have made the appropriate selections, click Next to continue.

Figure 3-2. Keyboard Configuration

Tip

To change your keyboard type after you have installed Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, log in as rootand use the /usr/sbin/kbdconfig command. Alternatively, you can type setup at the root prompt.


To become root, type su - at the shell prompt in a terminal window and then press [Enter]. Then,enter the root password.

Tip

To re-enable dead keys (assuming you chose to disable them during the installation), you will alsoneed to comment out the line enabling dead keys in the XF86Config-4 file (or, it you are usingXFree86 version 3, the XF86Config file) in /etc/X11.

An InputDevice section, that would disable dead keys on a keyboard layout that used dead keys (forexample, German), would look similar to the following:

Section "InputDevice"Identifier "Keyboard0"Driver "keyboard"Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"Option "XkbModel" "pc101"Option "XkbLayout" "de"Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"

EndSection

By default, the keyboard layout for various languages which use dead keys should have them enabledunless the nodeadkeys option is present.

3.7. Mouse ConfigurationChoose the correct mouse type for your system. If you cannot find an exact match, choose a mousetype that you are sure is compatible with your system (see Figure 3-3).

To determine your mouse’s interface, follow the mouse cable back to where it plugs into your system.If the connector at the end of the mouse cable plugs into a rectangular connector, you have a serial orUSB mouse; if the connector is round, you have a PS/2 mouse or mouse port.

If you are not sure if your mouse is a serial or USB mouse, check the vendor documentation.

If you cannot find a mouse that you are sure is compatible with your system, select one of the Genericentries, based on your mouse’s number of buttons, and its interface.


Figure 3-3. Mouse Configuration

If you have a PS/2 or a bus mouse, you do not need to pick a port and device. If you have a serialmouse, you should choose the correct port and device that your serial mouse is on.

The Emulate 3 Buttons checkbox allows you to use a two-button mouse as if it had three buttons. Ingeneral, the X Window System is easier to use with a three-button mouse. If you select this checkbox,you can emulate a third, "middle" button by pressing both mouse buttons simultaneously.

Tip

To change your mouse configuration after you have completed the installation of Red Hat EnterpriseLinux ES, become root; then use the /usr/sbin/mouseconfig command from a shell prompt.

To configure your mouse to work as a left-handed mouse, reset the order of the mouse buttons. Todo this, after you have booted your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES system, type gpm -B 321 at theshell prompt.

3.8. Welcome to Red Hat Enterprise Linux ESThe Welcome screen does not prompt you for any input. Please read over the help text in the left panelfor additional instructions and information on where to register your Official Red Hat Enterprise LinuxES product.

Please notice the Hide Help button at the bottom left corner of the screen. The help screen is openby default. If you do not want to view the help information, click on Hide Help to minimize the helpportion of the screen.

Click on the Next button to continue.


3.9. Install OptionsChoose the type of installation you would like to perform (see Figure 3-4). Red Hat Enterprise LinuxES allows you to choose the installation type that best fits your needs. Your options are Server andCustom.

Note

The choices for Installation Type presented on the Install Options screen vary depending on whichproduct you are installing.

Figure 3-4. Choosing Your Installation Type

For more information about the different installation classes, please refer to Section 1.5.

3.10. Disk Partitioning SetupPartitioning allows you to divide your hard drive into isolated sections, where each section behavesas its own hard drive. Partitioning is particularly useful if you run more than one operating system. Ifyou are not sure how you want your system to be partitioned, read Appendix D for more information.

On this screen, you can choose to perform automatic partitioning, or manual partitioning using DiskDruid or fdisk (see Figure 3-5).

Automatic partitioning allows you to perform an installation without having to partition your drive(s)yourself. If you do not feel comfortable with partitioning your system, it is recommended that you donot choose to partition manually and instead let the installation program partition for you.


To partition manually, choose either the Disk Druid or fdisk (recommended for experts only) parti-tioning tool.

Figure 3-5. Disk Partitioning Setup

If you chose to manually partition using Disk Druid, refer to Section 3.12.

If you chose to manually partition using fdisk, refer to Section 3.13.


3.11. Automatic Partitioning

Figure 3-6. Automatic Partitioning

Automatic partitioning allows you to have some control concerning what data is removed (if any)from your system. Your options are:

• Remove all Linux partitions on this system — select this option to remove only Linux partitions(partitions created from a previous Linux installation). This will not remove other partitions youmay have on your hard drive(s).

• Remove all partitions on this system — select this option to remove all partitions on yourhard drive(s) (this includes partitions created by other operating systems such as Windows95/98/NT/2000).

Caution

If you select this option, all data on the selected hard drive(s) will be removed by the installationprogram. Do not select this option if you have information that you want to keep on the hard drive(s)where you are installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.

• Keep all partitions and use existing free space — select this option to retain your current dataand partitions, assuming you have enough free space available on your hard drive(s).

Using your mouse, choose the hard drive(s) on which you want Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES to beinstalled. If you have two or more hard drives, you can choose which hard drive(s) should contain thisinstallation. Unselected hard drives, and any data on them, will not be touched.


Caution

If you have a RAID card, be aware that some BIOSes do not support booting from the RAID card. Incases such as these, the /boot partition must be created on a partition outside of the RAID array,such as on a separate hard drive. An internal hard drive is necessary to use for partition creation withproblematic RAID cards.

If you have chosen to automatically partition your system, you should select Review and manuallyedit your /boot partition.

To review and make any necessary changes to the partitions created by automatic partitioning, selectthe Review option. After selecting Review and clicking Next to move forward, you will see the par-titions created for you in Disk Druid. You will also be able to make modifications to these partitionsif they do not meet your needs.

Click Next once you have made your selections to proceed.

3.12. Partitioning Your SystemIf you chose automatic partitioning and did not select Review, please skip ahead to Section 3.16.

If you chose automatic partitioning and selected Review, you can either accept the current partitionsettings (click Next), or modify the setup using Disk Druid, the manual partitioning tool.

If you chose Manually partition with fdisk, please skip ahead to Section 3.13.

At this point, you must tell the installation program where to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.This is done by defining mount points for one or more disk partitions in which Red Hat EnterpriseLinux ES will be installed. You may also need to create and/or delete partitions at this time (refer toFigure 3-7).

Note

If you have not yet planned how you will set up your partitions, refer to Appendix D. At a bare mini-mum, you need an appropriately-sized root partition, and a swap partition equal to twice the amountof RAM you have on the system.


Figure 3-7. Partitioning with Disk Druid

The partitioning tool used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES is Disk Druid. With the exception ofcertain esoteric situations, Disk Druid can handle the partitioning requirements for a typical Red HatEnterprise Linux ES installation.

3.12.1. Graphical Display of Hard Drive(s)Disk Druid offers a graphical representation of your hard drive(s).

Using your mouse, click once to highlight a particular field in the graphical display. Double-click toedit an existing partition or to create a partition out of existing free space.

Above the display, you will see the drive name (such as /dev/hda ), the geom (which shows thehard disk’s geometry and consists of three numbers representing the number of cylinders, heads, andsectors as reported by the hard disk), and the model of the hard drive as detected by the installationprogram.

3.12.2. Disk Druid’s ButtonsThese buttons control Disk Druid’s actions. They are used to change the attributes of a partition (forexample the filesystem type and mount point) and also to create RAID devices. Buttons on this screenare also used to accept the changes you have made, or to exit Disk Druid. For further explanation,take a look at each button in order:

• New: Used to request a new partition. When selected, a dialog box appears containing fields (suchas mount point and size) that must be filled in.

• Edit: Used to modify attributes of the partition currently selected in the Partitions section. Select-ing Edit opens a dialog box. Some or all of the fields can be edited, depending on whether thepartition information has already been written to disk.


You can also edit free space as represented in the graphical display to create a new partition withinthat space. Either highlight the free space and then select the Edit button, or double-click on thefree space to edit it.

• Delete: Used to remove the partition currently highlighted in the Current Disk Partitions section.You will be asked to confirm the deletion of any partition.

• Reset: Used to restore Disk Druid to its original state. All changes made will be lost if you Resetthe partitions.

• Make RAID: Make RAID can be used if you want to provide software RAID redundancy to anyor all disk partitions. It should only be used if you have experience using RAID. To read more aboutRAID, please refer to RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) in the Official Red Hat LinuxCustomization Guide.

To make a RAID device, you must first create software RAID partitions. Once you have createdtwo or more software RAID partitions, select Make RAID to join the software RAID partitionsinto a RAID device.

3.12.3. Partition FieldsAbove the partition hierarchy are labels which present information about the partitions you are creat-ing. The labels are defined as follows:

• Device: This field displays the partition’s device name.

• Start: This field shows the sector on your hard drive where the partition begins.

• End: This field shows the sector on your hard drive where the partition ends.

• Size: This field shows the partition’s size (in MB).

• Type: This field shows the partition’s type (for example, ext2, ext3, or vfat ).

• Mount Point: A mount point is the location within the directory hierarchy at which a volume exists;the volume is "mounted" at this location. This field indicates where the partition will be mounted.If a partition exists, but is not set, then you need to define its mount point. Double-click on thepartition or click the Edit button.

• Format: This field shows if the partition being created will be formatted.

3.12.4. Recommended Partitioning SchemeUnless you have a reason for doing otherwise, we recommend that you create the following partitions:

• A swap partition (at least 32 MB) — swap partitions are used to support virtual memory. In otherwords, data is written to a swap partition when there is not enough RAM to store the data yoursystem is processing. The size of your swap partition should be equal to twice your computer’sRAM, or 32 MB, whichever amount is larger, but no more than 2048 MB (or 2 GB). In DiskDruid, the partition field for swap should look similar to the following:Swap � hda6 64M 64M Linux swap

For example, if you have 1 GB of RAM or less, your swap partition should be at least equal to theamount of RAM on your system, up to two times the RAM. For more than 1 GB of RAM, 2 GB ofswap is recommended. Creating a large swap space partition will be especially helpful if you planto upgrade your RAM at a later time.

• A /boot partition (50 MB) — the partition mounted on /boot contains the operating system kernel(which allows your system to boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES), along with files used during thebootstrap process. Due to the limitations of most PC BIOSes, creating a small partition to hold


these files is a good idea. For most users, a 50 MB boot partition is sufficient. In Disk Druid, thepartition field for /boot should look similar to:/boot hda1 50M 50M Linux native

Caution

If your hard drive is more than 1024 cylinders (and your system was manufactured more than twoyears ago), you may need to create a /boot partition if you want the / (root) partition to use all ofthe remaining space on your hard drive.

Caution

If you have a RAID card, be aware that some BIOSes do not support booting from the RAID card.In cases such as these, the /boot partition must be created on a partition outside of the RAIDarray, such as on a separate hard drive.

• A root partition (350 MB - 3.2 GB) — this is where "/" (the root directory) will be located. In thissetup, all files (except those stored in /boot) are on the root partition.

A 350 MB partition will allow you to install a minimal Custom installation (without the Serverpackages), a 1.0 GB root partition will permit the equivalent of a default Server (with GNOME orKDE) installation (with very little free space), while a 3.2 GB root partition will let you perform afull Custom installation, choosing everything.

In Disk Druid, the partition field for / should look similar to:/ hda5 3734M 3734M Linux native

3.12.5. Adding PartitionsTo add a new partition, select the New button. A dialog box appears (see Figure 3-8).

Note

You must dedicate at least one partition to Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, and optionally more. Formore information, see Appendix D.


Figure 3-8. Creating a New Partition

• Mount Point: Enter the partition’s mount point. For example, if this partition should be the rootpartition, enter /; enter /boot for the /boot partition, and so on. You can also use the pulldownmenu to choose the correct mount point for your partition.

• Filesystem Type: Using the pulldown menu, select the appropriate filesystem type for this partition.For more information on filesystem types, see Section 3.12.5.1.

• Allowable Drives: This field contains a list of the hard disks installed on your system. If a harddisk’s box is highlighted, then a desired partition can be created on that hard disk. If the box isnot checked, then the partition will never be created on that hard disk. By using different checkboxsettings, you can have Disk Druid place partitions as you see fit, or let Disk Druid decide wherepartitions should go.

• Size (Megs): Enter the size (in megabytes) of the partition. Note, this field starts with a "1" (one);unless changed, only a 1 MB partition will be created.

• Additional Size Options: Choose whether to keep this partition at a fixed size, to allow it to "grow"(fill up the available hard drive space) to a certain point, or to allow it to grow to fill any remaininghard drive space available.

If you choose Fill all space up to (MB), you must give size constraints in the field to the right ofthis option. This allows you to keep a certain amount of space free on your hard drive for futureuse.

• Force to be a primary partition: Select whether the partition you are creating should be one of thefirst four partitions on the hard drive. If unselected, the partition created will be a logical partition.


See Section D.1.3, for more information.

• Check for bad blocks: Checking for bad blocks can help prevent data loss by locating the badblocks on a drive and making a list of them to prevent using them in the future. If you wish to checkfor bad blocks while formatting each filesystem, please make sure to select this option.

Selecting Check for bad blocks may dramatically increase your total installation time. Since mostnewer hard drives are quite large in size, checking for bad blocks may take a long time; the lengthof time depends on the size of your hard drive. If you choose to check for bad blocks, you canmonitor your progress on virtual console #6.

• Ok: Select Ok once you are satisfied with the settings and wish to create the partition.

• Cancel: Select Cancel if you do not want to create the partition.

3.12.5.1. Filesystem Types

Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES allows you to create different partition types, based on the filesystemthey will use. The following is a brief description of the different filesystems available, and how theycan be utilized.

• ext2 — An ext2 filesystem supports standard Unix file types (regular files, directories, symboliclinks, etc). It provides the ability to assign long file names, up to 255 characters. Versions prior toRed Hat Enterprise Linux ES 2.1 used ext2 filesystems by default.

• ext3 — The ext3 filesystem is based on the ext2 filesystem and has one main advantage — journal-ing. Using a journaling filesystem reduces time spent recovering a filesystem after a crash as thereis no need to fsck1 the filesystem.

• software RAID — Creating two or more software RAID partitions allows you to create a RAIDdevice. For more information regarding RAID, refer to the chapter RAID (Redundant Array ofIndependent Disks) in the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide.

• swap — Swap partitions are used to support virtual memory. In other words, data is written to aswap partition when there is not enough RAM to store the data your system is processing.

• vfat — The VFAT filesystem is a Linux filesystem that is compatible with Windows 95/NT longfilenames on the FAT filesystem.

3.12.6. Editing PartitionsTo edit a partition, select the Edit button or double-click on the existing partition.

Note

If the partition already exists on your hard disk, you will only be able to change the partition’s mountpoint. If you want to make any other changes, you will need to delete the partition and recreate it.

1. The fsck application is used to check the filesystem for metadata consistency and optionally repair one or

more Linux filesystems.


3.12.7. Deleting a PartitionTo delete a partition, highlight it in the Partitions section and click the Delete button. You will beasked to confirm the deletion.

Skip to Section 3.14 for further installation instructions.

3.13. Partitioning with fdiskThis section applies only if you chose to use fdisk to partition your system.

To partition your system without using fdisk, please skip to Section 3.11 for automatic partitioning orSection 3.12 for partitioning with Disk Druid.

If you have already completed disk partitioning, skip to Section 3.14 for further installation instruc-tions.

Caution

Unless you have previously used fdisk and understand how it works, we do not recommend that youuse it. It is much easier for new users to accidentally corrupt or lose data using fdisk .

Disk Druid is easier to understand than fdisk. To exit fdisk, click Back to return to the previousscreen, deselect fdisk, and then click Next.

If you have chosen to use fdisk, the next screen will prompt you to select a drive to partition usingfdisk. Once you have chosen which drive to partition, you will be presented with the fdisk commandscreen. If you do not know what command to use, type [m] at the prompt for help.

When you are finished making partitions, type [w] to save your changes and quit. You will be takenback to the original fdisk screen where you can partition another drive or continue the installation.

Note

None of the changes you make take effect until you save them and exit fdisk using the w command.You can quit fdisk at any time without saving changes using the q command.

After you have partitioned your drive(s), click Next. You will need to use Disk Druid to assign mountpoints to the partitions you just created with fdisk.

You will not be able to add new partitions using Disk Druid, but you can edit mount points for thepartitions you have already created. For each partition created with fdisk, click on the Edit button,choose the appropriate mount point for that partition from the pulldown menu, and click on OK.

3.14. Boot Loader InstallationIn order to boot the system without a boot disk, you usually need to install a boot loader. You canchoose to install either GRUB (selected by default) or LILO.

GRUB is a software boot loader that can be used to start Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES on yourcomputer. It can also start other operating systems, such as Windows 9x. Here, you will be asked how(or whether) you want to configure a boot loader and which one (GRUB or LILO).


Choose which boot loader you want to install. If you would rather use LILO, make sure it is selectedinstead of GRUB.

Caution

If you choose not to install GRUB or LILO for any reason, you will not be able to boot your RedHat Enterprise Linux ES system directly, and you will need to use another boot method (such as aboot diskette). Use this option only if you are sure you have another way of booting your Red HatEnterprise Linux ES system!

Figure 3-9. Boot Loader Installation

If you chose to install a boot loader (GRUB or LILO), you must determine where it will be installed.You may install your boot loader in one of two places:

The master boot record (MBR)

The recommended place to install a boot loader, unless the MBR already starts another operatingsystem loader, such as System Commander or OS/2’s Boot Manager. The MBR is a special areaon your hard drive that is automatically loaded by your computer’s BIOS, and is the earliest pointat which the boot loader can take control of the boot process. If you install it in the MBR, whenyour machine boots, GRUB (or LILO) will present a boot prompt. You can then boot Red HatEnterprise Linux ES or any other operating system that you have configured the boot loader toboot.


The first sector of your root partition

Recommended if you are already using another boot loader on your system (such as OS/2’s BootManager). In this case, your other boot loader will take control first. You can then configure thatboot loader to start GRUB (or LILO), which will then boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.

Caution

If you have a RAID card, be aware that some BIOSes do not support booting from the RAID card. Incases such as these, the boot loader should not be installed on the MBR of the RAID array. Rather,the boot loader should be installed on the MBR of the same drive as the /boot partition was created.

Select where you would like GRUB (or LILO) to be installed on your system. If your system will useonly Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, you should choose the MBR.

If you want to add default options to GRUB or LILO’s boot command, enter them into the Kernelparameters field. Any options you enter will be passed to the Linux kernel every time it boots.

The Force use of LBA32 (not normally required) option allows you to exceed the 1024 cylinderlimit for the /boot partition. If you have a system which supports the LBA32 extension for bootingoperating systems above the 1024 cylinder limit, you shouldplace your /boot partition above thislimit. If the installation program has not already detected this extension from your BIOS, you shouldselect the Force use of LBA32 (not normally required) option.

Every bootable partition is listed, including partitions used by other operating systems. The partitionholding your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES system’s root filesystem will have a Boot label of RedHat Enterprise Linux ES. Other partitions may also have boot labels. If you would like to addboot labels for other partitions (or change an existing boot label), click once on the partition to selectit. Once selected, you can change the boot label by editing the name in the Boot label text field.

Note

The Boot label column lists what you must enter at the boot prompt in order to boot the desiredoperating system. However, if you forget the boot labels defined on your system, you can alwayspress [Tab] at the prompt to display a list of defined boot labels.

3.14.1. Rescue ModeIf you need to use rescue mode, there are several options available to you.

• Using the CD-ROM to boot, type linux rescue at the boot: prompt.

• Using the network boot disk you have created, type linux rescue at the boot: prompt. Youwill then be prompted to retrieve the rescue image from the network.

• Using the boot disk you have created, type linux rescue at the boot: prompt. You then pickan installation method and choose a valid installation tree to load from.

For more information regarding rescue mode, refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide.


3.14.2. Alternative Boot LoadersIf you do not wish to use GRUB or LILO to boot your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES system, you haveseveral alternatives:

Boot disk

You can use the boot disk created by the installation program (if you elected to create one).

LOADLIN

You can load Linux from MS-DOS. Unfortunately, it requires a copy of the Linux kernel (andan initial RAM disk, if you have a SCSI adapter) to be available on an MS-DOS partition. Theonly way to accomplish this is to boot your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES system using someother method (for example, from LILO on a diskette) and then copy the kernel to an MS-DOSpartition. LOADLIN is available from ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/boot/dualboot/and associated mirror sites.

SYSLINUX

SYSLINUX is an MS-DOS program very similar to LOADLIN. It is also available fromftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/boot/loaders/ and associated mirror sites.

Some commercial boot loaders

You can load Linux using commercial boot loaders. For example, System Commander and Parti-tion Magic are able to boot Linux (but still require GRUB or LILO to be installed in your Linuxroot partition).

3.14.3. SMP Motherboards, GRUB, and LILOThis section is specific to SMP motherboards only. If the installation program detects an SMP moth-erboard on your system, it will create two /boot/grub/grub.conf or /etc/lilo.conf entries(depending on the boot loader you installed), rather than the usual single entry.

The two entries in grub.conf will be Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (kernel version)and Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (kernel versions-smp). The Red Hat EnterpriseLinux ES (kernel version-smp) will boot by default. However, if you have trouble with theSMP kernel, you can elect to boot the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (kernel version) en-try instead. You will retain all the functionality as before, but you will only be operating with a singleprocessor.

The two entries in lilo.conf will be linux and linux-up. The linux entry will boot by default.However, if you have trouble with the SMP kernel, you can elect to boot the linux-up entry instead.You will retain all the functionality as before, but you will only be operating with a single processor.

3.15. GRUB PasswordIf you did not select GRUB as your boot loader, or did not install a boot loader, skip to Section 3.16.

GRUB passwords provide a security mechanism in an environment where physical access to yourserver is available.


If you are installing GRUB as your boot loader, you should create a password to protect your sys-tem. Otherwise, users may be able to pass options to the kernel which can compromise your systemsecurity.

Figure 3-10. GRUB Password

If you choose to use a GRUB password to enhance your system security, be sure to select the checkboxlabeled Use a GRUB Password.

Once selected, enter a password and confirm it.

3.16. Network ConfigurationIf you do not have a network device, you will not see this screen. Skip ahead to Section 3.17.

If you have a network device and you have not already configured your networking (such as bootingfrom a network boot disk you created and entering in your network information as prompted), younow have the opportunity (as shown in Figure 3-11) to do so.

If you have multiple devices, you will see a tab for each device. You may switch between devices (forexample, between eth0 and eth1) and the information you provide on each tab will be specific to eachdevice.

Indicate if you would like to configure your IP address using DHCP (Dynamic Host ConfigurationProtocol). If you select Activate on boot, your network interface will be started when you boot. If youdo not have DHCP client access or you are unsure what to provide here, please contact your networkadministrator.

Next enter, where applicable, the IP Address, Netmask, Network, and Broadcast addresses. If youare unsure about any of these, please contact your network administrator.

If you have a fully qualified domain name for the network device, enter it in the Hostname field.


Finally, enter the Gateway and Primary DNS (and if applicable the Secondary DNS and TernaryDNS) addresses.

Figure 3-11. Network Configuration

Note

Do not use the numbers as seen in this sample configuration. These values will not work for your ownnetwork configuration. If you are not sure what values to enter, contact your network administrator forassistance.

Tip

Even if your computer is not part of a network, you can enter a hostname for your system. If you donot take this opportunity to enter a name, your system will be known as localhost.

3.17. Firewall ConfigurationRed Hat Enterprise Linux ES offers firewall protection for enhanced system security. A firewall existsbetween your computer and the network, and determines which resources on your computer remoteusers on the network can access. A properly configured firewall can greatly increase the security ofyour system.


Figure 3-12. Firewall Configuration

Choose the appropriate security level for your system.

High

If you choose High, your system will not accept connections (other than the default settings) thatare not explicitly defined by you. By default, only the following connections are allowed:

• DNS replies

• DHCP — so any network interfaces that use DHCP can be properly configured

If you choose High, your firewall will not allow the following:

• Active mode FTP (passive mode FTP, used by default in most clients, should still work)

• IRC DCC file transfers

• RealAudio™

• Remote X Window System clients

If you are connecting your system to the Internet, but do not plan to run a server, this is the safestchoice. If additional services are needed, you can choose Customize to allow specific servicesthrough the firewall.

Medium


If you choose Medium, your firewall will not allow remote machines to have access to certainresources on your system. By default, access to the following resources are not allowed:

• Ports lower than 1023 — the standard reserved ports, used by most system services, such asFTP, SSH, telnet, and HTTP

• The NFS server port (2049)

• The local X Window System display for remote X clients

• The X Font server port (by default, xfs does not listen on the network; it is disabled in the fontserver)

If you want to allow resources such as RealAudio™ while still blocking access to normal systemservices, choose Medium. Select Customize to allow specific services through the firewall.

No firewall

No firewall provides complete access to your system and does no security checking. Securitychecking is the disabling of access to certain services. This should only be selected if you arerunning on a trusted network (not the Internet) or plan to do more firewall configuration later.

Choose Customize to add trusted devices or to allow additional incoming services.

Trusted DevicesSelecting any of the Trusted Devices allows access to your system for all traffic from that device;it is excluded from the firewall rules. For example, if you are running a local network, but areconnected to the Internet via a PPP dialup, you can check eth0 and any traffic coming from yourlocal network will be allowed. Selecting eth0 as trusted means all traffic over the Ethernet isallowed, put the ppp0 interface is still firewalled. If you want to restrict traffic on an interface,leave it unchecked.

It is not recommended that you make any device that is connected to public networks, such asthe Internet, a Trusted Device.

Allow IncomingEnabling these options allow the specified services to pass through the firewall. Note, during aworkstation installation, the majority of these services are not installed on the system.

DHCPIf you allow incoming DHCP queries and replies, you allow any network interface that usesDHCP to determine its IP address. DHCP is normally enabled. If DHCP is not enabled,your computer can no longer get an IP address.

SSHSecure SHell (SSH) is a suite of tools for logging into and executing commands on a remotemachine. If you plan to use SSH tools to access your machine through a firewall, enable thisoption. You need to have the openssh-server package installed in order to access yourmachine remotely, using SSH tools.

TelnetTelnet is a protocol for logging into remote machines. Telnet communications are unen-crypted and provide no security from network snooping. Allowing incoming Telnet accessis not recommended. If you do want to allow inbound Telnet access, you will need to installthe telnet-server package.


WWW (HTTP)The HTTP protocol is used by Apache (and by other Web servers) to serve webpages. Ifyou plan on making your Web server publicly available, enable this option. This option isnot required for viewing pages locally or for developing webpages. You will need to installthe apache package if you want to serve webpages.

Mail (SMTP)If you want to allow incoming mail delivery through your firewall, so that remote hosts canconnect directly to your machine to deliver mail, enable this option. You do not need toenable this if you collect your mail from your ISP’s server using POP3 or IMAP, or if youuse a tool such as fetchmail. Note that an improperly configured SMTP server can allowremote machines to use your server to send spam.

FTPThe FTP protocol is used to transfer files between machines on a network. If you plan onmaking your FTP server publicly available, enable this option. You need to install the wu-ftpd (and possibly the anonftp) package for this option to be useful.

Other portsYou can allow access to ports which are not listed here, by listing them in the Other portsfield. Use the following format: port:protocol. For example, if you want to allowIMAP access through your firewall, you can specify imap:tcp. You can also explic-itly specify numeric ports; to allow UDP packets on port 1234 through the firewall, enter1234:udp. To specify multiple ports, separate them with commas.

3.18. Language Support SelectionRed Hat Enterprise Linux ES can install and support multiple languages for use on your system.

You must select a language to use as the default language. The default language will be used onyour Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES system once installation is complete. If you choose to install otherlanguages, you can change your default language after the installation.

If you are only going to use one language on your system, selecting only that language will savesignificant disk space. The default language is the language you selected to use during the installation.However, if you select only one language, you will only be able to use that specified language afterthe Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation is complete.


Figure 3-13. Language Support Selection

To use more than one language on your system, choose specific languages to be installed or select alllanguages to have all available languages installed on your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES system.

Use the Reset button to cancel your selections. Resetting will revert to the default; only the languageyou selected for use during the installation will be installed.

3.19. Time Zone ConfigurationYou can set your time zone by selecting your computer’s physical location or by specifying your timezone’s offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Notice the two tabs at the top of the screen (see Figure 3-14). The first tab allows you to configureyour time zone by your location. You can specify different areas to view: World, North America,South America, Pacific Rim, Europe, Africa, and Asia.


Figure 3-14. Configuring the Time Zone

On the interactive map, you can also click on a specific city, which is marked by a yellow dot; a red Xwill appear indicating your selection. You can also scroll through a list and choose a time zone.

The second tab allows you to specify a UTC offset. The tab displays a list of offsets to choose from,as well as an option to set daylight saving time.

On both tabs, you can select System Clock uses UTC. Please select this if you know that your systemis set to UTC.

Tip

If you wish to change your time zone configuration after you have booted your Red Hat EnterpriseLinux ES system, become root and use the /usr/sbin/timeconfig command.

3.20. Account ConfigurationThe Account Configuration screen allows you to set your root password. Additionally, you can setup user accounts for you to log in to once the installation is complete (see Figure 3-15).


Figure 3-15. Account Creation

3.20.1. Setting the Root PasswordSetting up a root account and password is one of the most important steps during your installation.Your root account is similar to the administrator account used on Windows NT machines. The rootaccount is used to install packages, upgrade RPMs, and perform most system maintenance. Loggingin as root gives you complete control over your system.

Use the root account only for system administration. Create a non-root account for your general useand su - to root when you need to fix something quickly. These basic rules will minimize the chancesof a typo or an incorrect command doing damage to your system.

Tip

To become root, type su - at the shell prompt in a terminal window and then press [Enter]. Then,enter the root password and press [Enter].

The installation program will prompt you to set a root password2 for your system. You must enter aroot password. The installation program will not let you proceed to the next section without enteringa root password.

The root password must be at least six characters long; the password you type is not echoed to thescreen. You must enter the password twice; if the two passwords do not match, the installation programwill ask you to enter them again.

2. A root password is the administrative password for your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES system. You should

only log in as root when needed for system maintenance. The root account does not operate within the restrictions

placed on normal user accounts, so changes made as root can have implications for your entire system.


You should make the root password something you can remember, but not something that is easy forsomeone else to guess. Your name, your phone number, qwerty, password, root, 123456, and anteaterare all examples of bad passwords. Good passwords mix numerals with upper and lower case lettersand do not contain dictionary words: Aard387vark or 420BMttNT, for example. Remember that thepassword is case-sensitive. If you write down your password, keep it in a secure place. However, it isrecommended that you do not write down this or any password you create.

Note

Do not use one of the example passwords offered in this manual. Using one of these passwordscould be considered a security risk.

Note

The root user (also known as the superuser) has complete access to the entire system; for this rea-son, logging in as the root user is best done only to perform system maintenance or administration.

3.20.2. Setting Up User AccountsIf you choose to create a user account now, you will have an account to log in to once the installationhas completed. This allows you to safely and easily log into your computer without having to be rootto create your user account.

Enter an account name. Then enter and confirm a password for that user account. Enter the full nameof the account user and press Add. Your account information will be added to the account list, and theuser account fields will be cleared so that you can add another user.

Figure 3-16. Creating a User Account

Choose New to add a new, non-root, user. Enter the user’s information and use the Add button to addthe user to the account list.

You can also Edit or Delete the user accounts you have created and no longer want.


3.21. Package Group SelectionAfter your partitions have been selected and configured for formatting, you are ready to select pack-ages for installation.

Note

Unless you choose a custom installation, the installation program will automatically choose mostpackages for you. However, you must select either GNOME or KDE (or both) to install a graphicalenvironment.

GNOME and KDE are both graphical desktop environments3 that handle the overall look and feel ofyour system. You must choose one of these to have a default graphical setup, but you can also installboth to determine for yourself which you prefer.

You can select components, which group packages together according to function (for example,GNOME, KDE, or Software Development ), individual packages, or a combination of the two.

To select a component, click on the checkbox beside it (see Figure 3-17).

Figure 3-17. Package Group Selection

Select each component you wish to install. Selecting Everything (at the end of the component list)during a custom installation installs all packages included with Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES. If youselect every package, you will need approximately 1.7 GB of free disk space.

3. A desktop environment in Linux is similar to the environment you might see in other operating systems.

However, environments differ in their look and feel and are easily customized for your individual needs.


To select packages individually, check the Select Individual Packages box at the bottom of the screen.

3.21.1. Selecting Individual PackagesAfter selecting the components you wish to install, you can select or deselect individual packagesusing your mouse (see Figure 3-18).

Figure 3-18. Selecting Individual Packages

You can choose to view the individual packages in tree view or flat view. Tree view allows you tosee the packages grouped by application type. When you expand this list and pick one group, the listof packages in that group appears in the panel on the right. Flat view allows you to see all of thepackages in an alphabetical listing on the right of the screen.

To sort alphabetically, click on the Package tab. To sort packages by size, click on the Size (MB) tab.

To select an individual package, double-click the checkbox beside the package name. A check markin the box means that a package has been selected.

For more information about a specific package, click on the individual package name. The packageinformation will appear at the bottom of the screen.

You can also select or deselect all packages listed within a particular group, by clicking on the Selectall in group or Unselect all in group buttons.

Note

Some packages (such as the kernel and certain libraries) are required for every Red Hat EnterpriseLinux ES system and are not available to select or deselect. These base packages are selected bydefault.


3.21.2. Unresolved DependenciesMany software packages, in order to work correctly, depend on other software packages that mustbe installed on your system. For example, many of the graphical Red Hat system administration toolsrequire the python and pythonlib packages. To make sure your system has all the packages it needsin order to be fully functional, Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES checks these package dependencies eachtime you install or remove software packages.

If any package requires another package which you have not selected to install, the program presents alist of these unresolved dependencies and gives you the opportunity to resolve them (see Figure 3-19).

The Unresolved Dependencies screen appears only if you are missing packages that are needed bythe packages you have selected. At the bottom of the screen, under the list of missing packages, anInstall packages to satisfy dependencies checkbox is selected by default. If you leave this checked,the installation program will resolve dependencies automatically by adding all required packages tothe list of selected packages.

Figure 3-19. Unresolved Dependencies

3.22. X Configuration — Video CardThe first part of X configuration deals with video card configuration.


3.22.1. Video Card ConfigurationXconfigurator will now present a list of video cards for you to choose from.

If you decided to install the X Window System packages, you now have the opportunity to configurean X server for your system. If you did not choose to install the X Window System packages, skipahead to Section 3.23.

If your video card does not appear on the list (see Figure 3-20), X may not support it. However, if youhave technical knowledge about your card, you may choose Unlisted Card and attempt to configureit by matching your card’s video chipset with one of the available X servers.

Figure 3-20. Video Card Setup

Next, enter the amount of video memory installed on your video card. If you are not sure, pleaseconsult the documentation accompanying your video card. You will not damage your video card bychoosing more memory than is available, but the X server may not start correctly if you do.

If you decide that the values you have selected are incorrect, you can click the Restore original valuesbutton to return to the suggested settings.

You can also select Skip X Configuration if you would rather configure X after the installation or notat all.

3.23. Preparing to InstallYou should now see a screen preparing you for the installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.

For your reference, a complete log of your installation can be found in /tmp/install.log once youreboot your system.


Warning

If, for some reason, you would rather not continue with the installation process, this is your lastopportunity to safely cancel the process and reboot your machine. Once you press the Next button,partitions will be written and packages will be installed. If you wish to abort the installation, you shouldreboot now before any existing information on any hard drive is rewritten.

To cancel this installation process, press your computer’s Reset button or use the [Control]-[Alt]-[Delete] key combination to restart your machine.

3.24. Installing PackagesAt this point there is nothing left for you to do until all the packages have been installed (see Figure3-21). How quickly this happens depends on the number of packages you have selected and yourcomputer’s speed.

Figure 3-21. Installing Packages

3.25. Boot Disk CreationIf you chose to create a boot disk, you should now insert a blank, formatted diskette into your diskettedrive (see Figure 3-22).

It is highly recommended that you create a boot disk. If your system were not able to boot properlyusing GRUB or LILO, a boot disk would enable you to properly boot your Red Hat Enterprise LinuxES system.


After a short delay, your boot disk will be created; remove it from your diskette drive and label itclearly. Note that if you would like to create a boot disk after the installation, you will be able to doso. For more information, please see the mkbootdisk man page, by typing man mkbootdisk at theshell prompt.

If you boot your system with the boot disk (instead of GRUB or LILO) , make sure you create a newboot disk if you make any changes to your kernel.

Figure 3-22. Creating Your Boot Disk

3.26. X Configuration — Monitor and CustomizationIn order to complete X configuration, you must configure your monitor and customize your X settings.

3.26.1. Configuring Your MonitorIf you chose to skip X configuration, go to Section 3.27.

Xconfigurator, the X Window System configuration tool, presents a list of monitors for you to choosefrom. In the list, you can either use the monitor that is autodetected for you, or choose another monitor.


Figure 3-23. Monitor Selection

If your monitor does not appear on the list, select the most appropriate Generic model available. Ifyou do select a Generic monitor, Xconfigurator will suggest horizontal and vertical sync ranges.These values are generally available in the documentation which accompanies your monitor, or fromyour monitor’s vendor or manufacturer; please check your documentation to make sure these valuesare set correctly.

Caution

Do not select a monitor similar to your monitor unless you are certain that the monitor you areselecting does not exceed the capabilities of your monitor. Doing so may overclock your monitor anddamage or destroy it.

The horizontal and vertical ranges that Xconfigurator suggests for your monitor are also displayedon this screen.

If you decide that the values you have selected are incorrect, you can click the Restore original valuesbutton to return to the suggested settings.

Click Next when you have finished configuring your monitor.

3.26.2. Custom ConfigurationChoose the correct color depth and resolution for your X configuration. Click Test Setting to tryout this configuration. If you do not like what you see during the test, click No to choose anotherresolution.


Note

If you need to exit out of the X test, use the [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Backspace] key combination. Also note thatthis will not work in some test cases.

We recommend that you test your configuration, to make sure the resolution and color settings areusable.

If you installed both GNOME and KDE, you can choose which one to use as your default desktopenvironment. If you installed one or the other, it will only show GNOME or KDE as the desktopdefault.

You can also choose whether you want to boot your system into a text or graphical environment onceRed Hat Enterprise Linux ES is installed. Unless you have special needs, booting into a graphicalenvironment (similar to a Windows environment) is recommended. If you choose to boot into a textenvironment, you will be presented with a command prompt (similar to a DOS environment).

Figure 3-24. X Customization

3.27. Installation CompleteCongratulations! Your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 2.1 installation is now complete!

The installation program will prompt you to prepare your system for reboot. Do not forget to removeany diskette in the diskette drive or CD in the CD-ROM drive. If you did not install a boot loader, youwill need to use your boot disk now.


After your computer’s normal power-up sequence has completed, you should see the graphical bootloader prompt, at which you can do any of the following things:

• Press [Enter] — causes the default boot entry to be booted.

• Select a boot label, followed by [Enter] — causes the boot loader to boot the operating systemcorresponding to the boot label. (Press [?] at the text mode boot loader prompt for a list of validboot labels.)

• Do nothing — after the boot loader’s timeout period, (by default, five seconds) the boot loader willautomatically boot the default boot entry.

Do whatever is appropriate to boot. If your system was not able to boot properly using GRUB or LILO,or a third-party boot loader, a boot disk would enable you to properly boot your Red Hat EnterpriseLinux ES system. You should see one or more screens of messages scroll by. Eventually, you shouldsee a login: prompt or a GUI login screen (if you installed the X Window System and chose to startX automatically).

Tip

If you are not sure what to do next, we suggest you begin with the Official Red Hat Linux GettingStarted Guide (available online at http://www.redhat.com/docs if not included as part of your product),which covers topics relating to the basics of your system and is an introduction to using Red HatEnterprise Linux ES.

If you are a more experienced user looking for information on administration topics, you may find theOfficial Red Hat Linux Reference Guide to be more helpful.

If you are looking for information on system configuration, you may find the Official Red Hat LinuxCustomization Guide to be helpful.

Chapter 4.

Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES via TextMode

This release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES features a graphical, mouse-based installation program,but you can also install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES using a text mode, keyboard-based installationprogram. This chapter briefly explains how to use the text mode installation program. Here are somerecommendations:

• If you are new to Linux installations, read Chapter 3, first. The main focus of that chapter is thegraphical installation process, but most of the concepts apply to the text mode installation as well.After reading that chapter, Section 4.1, will give you more information regarding the aspects ofinstalling Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES that do not apply to the graphical installation process.

Additionally, Appendix D may be helpful to you, since it discusses disk partition resizing. If youplan to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES on a disk where another operating system is currentlyinstalled, this knowledge will be crucial.

• If you plan to install over a network (via NFS, FTP, or HTTP), you must make a network boot disk.Chapter 1, explains how to do this.

• If you have never used the text mode installation program, or need a refresher on its user interface,read this chapter.

4.1. Things You Should KnowBefore attempting to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, you should collect information about yoursystem. This information will help prevent any surprises during the installation. You can find mostof this information in the documentation that came with your system, or from the system’s vendor ormanufacturer.

Chapter 2 provides a table for you to fill out with your specific system requirements, which helps youkeep up with any information needed during your installation. Please review the hardware table atTable 2-1.

The most recent list of supported hardware can be found at http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/. Youshould check your hardware against this list before proceeding.

4.1.1. Basic Hardware ConfigurationYou should have a basic understanding of the hardware installed in your computer, including thefollowing:

• Hard drive(s) — specifically, the number, size, and type. If you have more than one, it is helpful toknow which one is first, second, and so on. It is also good to know if your drives are IDE or SCSI.If you have IDE drives, you should check your computer’s BIOS to see if you are accessing them inlinear mode. Please refer to your computer’s documentation for the proper key sequence to accessthe BIOS. Note that your computer’s BIOS may refer to linear mode by other names, such as "largedisk mode." Again, your computer’s documentation should be consulted for clarification.

• Memory — the amount of RAM installed in your computer.

• CD-ROM — most importantly, the unit’s interface type (IDE, SCSI, or other interface) and, for non-IDE, non-SCSI CD-ROMs, the make and model number. IDE CD-ROMs (also known as ATAPI)are the most common type of CD-ROM in recently manufactured, PC-compatible computers.

52 Chapter 4. Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES via Text Mode

• SCSI adapter (if one is present) — the adapter’s make and model number.

• Network card (if one is present) — the card’s make and model number.

• Mouse — the mouse’s type (serial, PS/2, or bus mouse), protocol (Microsoft, Logitech, MouseMan,etc.), and number of buttons; also, for serial mice, the serial port it is connected to.

On many newer systems, the installation program is able to automatically identify most hardware.However, it is a good idea to collect this information anyway, just to be sure.

4.1.2. Video ConfigurationIf you will be installing the X Window System, you should also be familiar with the following:

• Your video card — the card’s make and model number (or the video chipset it uses) and the amountof video RAM it has. (Most PCI-based cards are auto-detected by the installation program.)

• Your monitor — the unit’s make and model number, along with allowable ranges for horizontal andvertical refresh rates. (Newer models may be auto-detected by the installation program.)

4.1.3. Network-related InformationIf you are connected to a network, be sure you know the following:

• IP address — usually represented as a set of four numbers separated by dots, such as 10.0.2.15.

• Netmask — another set of four numbers separated by dots; an example netmask would be255.255.248.0.

• Gateway IP address — another set of four dot-separated numbers; for example, 10.0.2.254.

• One or more name server IP addresses — one or more sets of dot-separated numbers; for example,10.0.2.1 might be the address of a name server.

• Domain name — the name your organization uses; for example, Red Hat has a domain name ofredhat.com.

• Hostname — the name assigned to your individual system; for example, a computer might benamed pooh.

Note

The information provided here is as an example only! Do not use it when you install Red Hat Enter-prise Linux ES! If you do not know the proper values for your network, ask your network administrator.

4.2. The Installation Program User InterfaceThe Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES text mode installation program uses a screen-based interface thatincludes most of the on-screen "widgets" commonly found on graphical user interfaces. Figure 4-1,and Figure 4-2, illustrate the screens you will see.

Chapter 4. Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES via Text Mode 53

Figure 4-1. Installation Program Widgets as seen in Configure TCP/IP

Figure 4-2. Installation Program Widgets as seen in Disk Druid

Here is a list of the most important widgets shown in Figure 4-1, and Figure 4-2:

• Window — windows (usually referred to as dialogs in this manual) will appear on your screenthroughout the installation process. At times, one window may overlay another; in these cases, youcan only interact with the window on top. When you are finished in that window, it will disappear,allowing you to continue working in the window underneath.


• Text Input — text input lines are regions where you can enter information required by the installa-tion program. When the cursor rests on a text input line, you may enter and/or edit information onthat line.

• Checkbox — checkboxes allow you to select or deselect a feature. The box displays either anasterisk (selected) or a space (unselected). When the cursor is within a checkbox, press [Space] toselect an unselected feature or to deselect a selected feature.

• Text widget — text widgets are regions of the screen for the display of text. At times, text widgetsmay also contain other widgets, such as checkboxes. If a text widget contains more informationthan can be displayed in the space reserved for it, a scroll bar appears; if you position the cursorwithin the text widget, you can then use the [Up] and [Down] arrow keys to scroll through allthe information available. Your current position is shown on the scroll bar by a # character, whichmoves up and down the scroll bar as you scroll.

• Button widget — button widgets are the primary method of interacting with the installation pro-gram. You progress through the windows of the installation program by navigating these buttons,using the [Tab] and [Enter] keys. Buttons can be selected when they are highlighted.

• Cursor — although not a widget, the cursor is used to select (and interact) with a particular widget.As the cursor is moved from widget to widget, it may cause the widget to change color, or you mayonly see the cursor itself positioned in or next to the widget. In Figure 4-1, the cursor is positionedon the OK button. Figure 4-2, shows the cursor on the Edit button.

4.2.1. Using the Keyboard to NavigateNavigation through the installation dialogs is performed through a simple set of keystrokes. To movethe cursor, use [Left], [Right], [Up], and [Down] arrow keys. Use [Tab], and [Alt]-[Tab] to cycleforward or backward through each widget on the screen. Along the bottom, most screens display asummary of available cursor positioning keys.

To "press" a button, position the cursor over the button (using [Tab], for example) and press [Space]or [Enter]. To select an item from a list of items, move the cursor to the item you wish to select andpress [Enter]. To select an item with a checkbox, move the cursor to the checkbox and press [Space]to select an item. To deselect, press [Space] a second time.

Pressing [F12] accepts the current values and proceeds to the next dialog; it is equivalent to pressingthe OK button.

Caution

Unless a dialog box is waiting for your input, do not press any keys during the installation process(doing so may result in unpredictable behavior).

4.3. Starting the Installation ProgramThe following methods can be used to start the installation:

• Insert a boot diskette that you have created into the primary diskette drive and reboot your computer.

• Insert the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES CD 1 into the drive and reboot, if your computer can bootfrom the CD-ROM drive.

While the installation program loads, messages will scroll on your screen. When the installation pro-gram has loaded, this prompt appears:


boot:

4.3.1. Text Mode Boot OptionsIf you press [Enter] at the boot: prompt, or if you take no action within the first minute after theboot: prompt appears, the graphical installation program will start. Pressing one of the help screenfunction keys as described in Section 4.3.2 disables this autostart feature.

To start the text mode installation program, before pressing [Enter], type:

boot: text

If the installation program does not properly detect your hardware, you may need to restart the instal-lation in "expert" mode. To start an expert mode installation, type:

boot: text expert

Expert mode disables most hardware probing, and gives you the option of entering options for thedrivers loaded during the installation.

Note

The initial boot messages will not contain any references to SCSI or network cards. This is normal;these devices are supported by modules that are loaded during the installation process.

Note that the command to start a serial installation has changed. If you must perform the installationin serial mode, use the following command:

boot: linux text console= � device

In this command, � device should be the device you are using (such as ttyS0 or ttyS1).

You can also pass options to the kernel as you are booting the installation program. For example, toinstruct the kernel to use all the RAM in a 128 MB system, enter:

boot: linux text mem=128M

4.3.2. Displaying Online HelpOnce the installation program is loaded into memory, you can obtain information about the installationprocess and options by pressing [F1] through [F6]. For example, press [F2] to see general informationabout the online help screens.

4.4. Installation Cross-Reference Table

Note

This installation cross-reference table only documents the screens seen when performing a Serverinstallation.


Most text mode installation screens can be cross-referenced with the corresponding GUI screen. Table4-1 lists the screens, in order, and gives section references for more information.

For those screens which do not have adequate GUI counterparts, installation-related instructions andscreenshots will be provided in this chapter.

Text Mode Screen Text Mode Reference Point

Language Screen Section 3.5

Installing from a Hard Disk Section 4.5

Installing over a Network Section 4.6

Mouse Selection Section 3.7

Welcome Screen Section 3.8

Installation Type Section 3.9

Disk Partitioning Setup Section 3.10

Automatic Partitioning Section 3.11

fdisk Section 3.13

Hostname Configuration Section 3.16

Firewall Configuration Section 3.17

Network Configuration Section 3.16

Language Support and Default Language Section 3.18

Time Zone Selection Section 3.19

Root Password Section 3.20

Add User/User Account Setup Section 3.20

Package Installation (Group, Individual,Dependencies)

Section 3.21

Video Card Configuration Section 3.26

Package Installation Section 3.23 and Section 3.24

Boot Disk Creation Section 3.25

Monitor Configuration Section 3.26.1

Custom X Configuration Section 3.26.2

Installation Complete Section 3.27

Table 4-1. Installation Cross-reference Table


4.5. Installing from a Hard Drive

Note

Hard drive installations only work from ext2, ext3, or FAT filesystems. If you have a filesystem otherthan those listed here, such as reiserfs, you will not be able to perform a hard drive installation.

Hard drive installations require the use of the ISO (or CD-ROM) images rather than copying an entireinstallation tree. After placing the required ISO images (the binary Red Hat Enterprise Linux ESCD-ROMs) in a directory, choose to install from the hard drive. You will then point the installationprogram at that directory to perform the installation.

Verifying that the ISO images are intact before you attempt an installation will help to avoid problemsthat are often encountered during a hard drive installation. To verify the ISO images are intact priorto performing an installation, use an md5sum program (many md5sum programs are available forvarious operating systems). An md5sum program should be available on the same server as the ISOimages.

The Select Partition screen (Figure 4-3) applies only if you are installing from a disk partition (thatis, if you selected Hard Drive in the Installation Method dialog). This dialog allows you to namethe disk partition and directory from which you are installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.

Enter the device name of the partition containing the Red Hat ISO images. There is also a field labeledDirectory holding images. If the ISO images are not in the root directory of that partition, enter thepath to the ISO images (for example, if the ISO images are in /test/new/RedHat, you would enter/test/new).

After you have identified the disk partition, you will next see the Welcome dialog. See Table 4-1, formore information.

Figure 4-3. Selecting Partition Dialog for Hard Drive Installation


4.6. Installing over a NetworkIf you are performing a network installation, the Configure TCP/IP dialog appears; for an explanationof this dialog, go to Section 3.16, and then return here.

4.6.1. Setting Up the ServerIf you are not sure how to do this, refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide and theOfficial Red Hat Linux Reference Guide for more information.

4.6.2. NFS SetupThe NFS dialog (Figure 4-4) applies only if you are installing from an NFS server (if you booted froma network or PCMCIA boot disks and selected NFS Image in the Installation Method dialog).

Figure 4-4. NFS Setup Dialog

Enter the fully-qualified domain name or IP address of your NFS server. For example, if you are in-stalling from a host named eastcoast in the domain redhat.com, enter eastcoast.redhat.comin the NFS Server field.

Next, enter the name of the exported directory. If you followed the setup described in Section 4.6, youwould enter the directory /location/of/disk/space/ which contains the RedHat directory.

If the NFS server is exporting a mirror of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation tree,enter the directory which contains the RedHat directory. (If you do not know this directorypath, ask your system administrator.) For example, if your NFS server contains the directory/mirrors/redhat/i386/RedHat, enter /mirrors/redhat/i386.

Next you will see the Welcome dialog. See Table 4-1, for more information.


4.6.3. FTP SetupThe FTP dialog (Figure 4-5) applies only if you are installing from an FTP server (if you selected FTPin the Installation Method dialog). This dialog allows you to identify the FTP server from which youare installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.

Figure 4-5. FTP Setup Dialog

Enter the name or IP address of the FTP site you are installing from, and the name of the directorycontaining the RedHat installation files for your architecture. For example, if the FTP site containsthe directory /mirrors/redhat/i386/RedHat, enter /mirrors/redhat/i386.

If everything has been specified properly, a message box appears indicating that base/hdlist isbeing retrieved.


4.6.4. HTTP SetupThe HTTP dialog (Figure 4-6) applies only if you are installing from an HTTP server (if you selectedHTTP in the Installation Method dialog). This dialog prompts you for information about the HTTPserver from which you are installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.


Figure 4-6. HTTP Setup Dialog

Enter the name or IP address of the HTTP site you are installing from, and the name of the directorythere containing the RedHat installation files for your architecture. For example, if the HTTP sitecontains the directory /mirrors/redhat/i386/RedHat, enter /mirrors/redhat/i386.>

If everything has been specified properly, a message box appears indicating that base/hdlist isbeing retrieved.


II. AppendixesTable of ContentsA. Removing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES................................................................................... 63B. Getting Technical Support........................................................................................................... 65C. Troubleshooting Your Installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES...................................... 69D. An Introduction to Disk Partitions............................................................................................. 77E. Driver Disks .................................................................................................................................. 93

Appendix A.

Removing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES

To uninstall Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES from your system, you will need to remove the GRUB orLILO information from your master boot record (MBR).

In DOS, NT, and Windows 95 you can use fdisk to create a new MBR with the "undocumented" flag/mbr. This will ONLY rewrite the MBR to boot the primary DOS partition. The command shouldlook like the following:

fdisk /mbr

If you need to remove Linux from a hard drive, and have attempted to do this with the default DOSfdisk, you will experience the "Partitions exist but they do not exist" problem. The best way to removenon-DOS partitions is with a tool that understands partitions other than DOS.

You can do this with the installation media by typing linux expert at the boot: prompt:

boot: linux expert

Select install (versus upgrade) and at the point when you should partition the drive, choose fdisk.In fdisk, type [p] to print out the partition numbers, and remove the Linux partitions with the [d]command. When you are satisfied with the changes you have made, you can quit with a [w] and thechanges will be saved to disk. If you deleted too much, type [q] and no changes will be made.

Once you have removed the Linux partitions, you can reboot your computer using [Control]-[Alt]-[Delete] instead of continuing with the install.

64 Appendix A. Removing Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES

Appendix B.

Getting Technical Support

B.1. Remember to Sign UpIf you have an official edition of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 2.1 and/or an official Red Hat OEMpartner kit, please remember to sign up for the benefits you are entitled to as a Red Hat customer.

You will be entitled to any or all of the following benefits, depending upon the Official Red HatEnterprise Linux ES product you purchased:

• Official Red Hat support — Get help with your installation questions from the Red Hat supportteam.

• Red Hat Network — Easily update your packages and receive security notices that are customizedfor your system. Go to http://rhn.redhat.com for details.

• Under the Brim: The Official Red Hat E-Newsletter — Every month, get the latest news and productinformation directly from Red Hat.

To sign up, go to http://www.redhat.com/apps/activate/. You will find your Product ID on the Regis-tration Information Card in your Official Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES boxed set.

B.2. An Overview of Red Hat Support

Note

Refer to the service level agreement at http://www.redhat.com/support/sla/ for more information onhow the Red Hat technical support staff can assist you.

Red Hat provides installation assistance for Official Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES products and coversinstallation on a single computer. This assistance is intended to help customers successfully installRed Hat Enterprise Linux ES. Assistance with installation is offered via telephone and the Web. Note,telephone support is only available with certain Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES products. Please checkyour to see what types of support are available to you.

Red Hat Support will attempt to answer any questions you may have before the installation process isinitiated. Depending on the product purchased, it can include the following:

• Hardware compatibility questions

• Basic hard drive partitioning strategies

Red Hat Support can provide the following assistance during the installation process:

• Getting supported hardware recognized by the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES operating system

• Assistance with drive partitioning

We can also help you with basic post-installation tasks, such as:

66 Appendix B. Getting Technical Support

• Successfully configuring the X Window System using Xconfigurator• Configuring a local parallel port printer to print text

• Configuring a mouse

Our installation assistance service is designed to get Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES running on yoursystem as quickly and as easily as possible. However, there are many other things that you may wantto do with your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES system, from compiling a custom kernel to setting up aWeb server, which are not covered.

For assistance with these tasks, there is a wealth of online information available in the form ofHOWTO documents, Linux-related websites, and commercial publications. The various LinuxHOWTO documents are included with Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES on the Documentation CD inthe /HOWTOS directory. These HOWTOS are provided in text files that can easily be read from withinRed Hat Enterprise Linux ES and other operating systems.

A large number of Linux-related websites are available. The best starting point for finding informationon Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES is the Red Hat, Inc. website:

http://www.redhat.com/

Many Linux-related books are available. If you are new to Linux, a book that covers Linux basics willbe invaluable. We can recommend several titles: The Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide;Using Linux, by Bill Ball; Linux Clearly Explained, by Bryan Pfaffenberger; Linux for Dummies, byJon "maddog" Hall; and Learning Red Hat Linux, by Bill McCarty.

Certain Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES products include additional support programs covering advancedconfigurations. Please see the Red Hat Support website for more information. The Red Hat technicalsupport website is located at the following URL:

http://www.redhat.com/support/

B.3. Scope of Red Hat SupportRed Hat, Inc. can only provide installation assistance to customers who have purchased an Official RedHat Enterprise Linux ES boxed set and/or an Official Red Hat OEM partner kit. If you have obtainedLinux from any other company, you must contact that company for support. Other companies include:

• Macmillan

• Sams/Que

• Linux Systems Labs (LSL)

• Mandrake

• CheapBytes

Additionally, Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES obtained via any of the following methods does not qualifyfor support from Red Hat:

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES PowerTools Archive

• Downloaded via FTP on the Internet

• Included in a package such as Motif or Applixware

• Copied or installed from another user’s CD

• A CD-ROM (or CD-ROM set) included in a Linux book or other publication.

Appendix B. Getting Technical Support 67

B.4. How to Get Technical SupportIn order to receive technical support for your Official Red Hat product, you must register your producton the Red Hat website.

Every Official Red Hat product comes with a Product Identification code: a 16-character alphanumericstring. The Product ID for Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 2.1 is located on the Registration InformationCard that can be found inside the box. Your Product ID is included in your boxed set, and you shouldkeep it in a safe place. You need this code, so do not lose the card!

Note

Do not throw away the card with your Product ID. You need the Product ID to get technical support. Ifyou lose the certificate, you may not be able to receive support.

The Product ID is the code that will enable your technical support and any other benefits or servicesthat you purchased from Red Hat, depending upon which Red Hat product you purchased.

B.4.1. Signing up for Technical SupportTo sign up for technical support, you will need to:

1. Create a customer profile at http://www.redhat.com/apps/activate/. You may have already com-pleted this step; if you have, continue to the next step.

2. Using the login name and password you created during the customer profile, please log in at theRed Hat Support website at http://www.redhat.com/support.

If you created a new customer profile, once you activate your product you will see a webpagethat shows your registered products. There is also a button, Access Web Support, on this pagethat will take you to the support website.

3. Update your contact information if necessary.

Note

If your email address is not correct, communications regarding your technical support requestsCANNOT be delivered to you, and you will not be able to retrieve your login and password byemail. Be sure that you give us your correct email address.

If you are worried about your privacy, please see the Red Hat privacy statement athttp://www.redhat.com/legal/privacy_statement.html.

4. Add a product to your profile. Please enter the following information:

• The Product ID for your boxed set product

• The Support Certificate Number or Entitlement Number if the product is a contract

5. Set your customer preferences.

6. Answer the optional customer questionnaire.

7. Submit the form.

If the previous steps were completed successfully, you can now login athttp://www.redhat.com/support and open a new technical service request. However, you must stilluse your Product ID in order to obtain technical support via telephone (if the product you purchased

68 Appendix B. Getting Technical Support

came with phone support). You will also be asked for your login name when contacting the technicalsupport team via telephone.

B.5. Questions for Technical SupportTechnical support is both a science and a mystical art form. In most cases, support technicians mustrely on customer observations and communications with the customer in order to diagnose and solvethe problem. Therefore, it is extremely important that you are as detailed and clear as possible whenyou state your questions and report your problems. Examples of what you should include are:

• Symptoms of the problem (for example: "Linux is not able to access my CD-ROM drive. When ittries, I get timeout errors.")

• When the problem began (for example: "My system was working fine until yesterday, when alightning storm hit my area.")

• Any changes you made to your system (for example: "I added a new hard drive and used PartitionWizzo to add Linux partitions.")

• Other information that may be relevant to your situation, such as the installation method (CD-ROM,NFS, HTTP)

• Specific hardware devices that may be relevant to your problem (for example: If you cannot setupnetworking, what kind of network card do you have?)

Note

Refer to the service level agreement at http://www.redhat.com/support/sla/ for more information onhow the Red Hat technical support staff can assist you.

B.5.1. How to Send Support QuestionsPlease login at http://www.redhat.com/support and open a new service request, or call the phonenumber for support. If your product came with phone support, or you have purchased a phone supportcontract, the phone number you will need to call will be provided to you during the sign up process.

For more information on using the Red Hat online support system go tohttp://www.redhat.com/support/services/access.html.

Appendix C.

Troubleshooting Your Installation of Red HatEnterprise Linux ES

This appendix discusses some common installation problems and their solutions.

C.1. You are Unable to Boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES

C.1.1. Is Your System Displaying Signal 11 Errors?If you receive a fatal signal 11 during your installation, it is probably due to a hardware error inmemory on your system’s bus. A hardware error in memory can be caused by problems in executablesor with the system’s hardware. Like other operating systems, Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES places itsown demands on your system’s hardware. Some of this hardware may not be able to meet thosedemands, even if they work properly under another OS.

Check to see if you have the latest installation and supplemental boot diskettes from Red Hat. Reviewthe online errata to see if newer versions are available. If the latest images still fail, it may be due to aproblem with your hardware. Commonly, these errors are in your memory or CPU-cache. A possiblesolution for this error is turning off the CPU-cache in the BIOS. You could also try to swap yourmemory around in the motherboard slots to see if the problem is either slot or memory related.

For more information concerning signal 11 errors, refer to http://www.bitwizard.nl/sig11/.

C.1.2. Are You Unable to Boot from a Network Boot Disk?If you are experiencing difficulties in getting the network boot disk you made to boot your systemcorrectly, you may need an updated boot disk.

Check the online errata for updated diskette images (if available) and follow the instructions providedto make an updated boot disk for your system.

C.1.3. Are You Unable to Boot With Your RAID Card?If you have performed an installation and cannot boot your system properly, you may need to reinstalland create your partitions differently.

Some BIOSes do not support booting from RAID cards. At the end of an installation, a text-basedscreen showing the boot loader prompt (for example, GRUB:) and a flashing cursor may be all thatappears. If this is the case, you will need to repartition your system.

Whether you choose automatic or manual partitioning, you will need to install your /boot partitionoutside of the RAID array, such as on a separate hard drive. An internal hard drive is necessary to usefor partition creation with problematic RAID cards.

You must also install your preferred boot loader (GRUB or LILO) outside of the RAID array — noton the MBR. The boot loader should be installed on the MBR of the same drive as the /boot partitionwas created.

Once these changes have been made, you should be able to finish your installation and boot the systemproperly.

70 Appendix C. Troubleshooting Your Installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES

C.2. Trouble Beginning the Installation

C.2.1. Is Your Mouse Not Detected?If the Mouse Not Detected screen (see Figure C-1) appears, then the installation program was notable to identify your mouse correctly.

You can choose to continue with the GUI installation or use the text mode installation, which does notrequire using a mouse. If you choose to continue with the GUI installation, you will need to providethe installation program with your mouse configuration information (see Figure 3-3).

Figure C-1. Mouse Not Detected

For an overview of text mode installation instructions, please refer to Chapter 4.

C.2.2. Problems with Booting into the Graphical InstallationThe Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation program uses frame buffers by default. However, thereare some video cards that will not work with this setting. The end result will be a problem bootinginto the graphical installation program.

The installation program will first try to run in frame buffer mode. If that fails, it will try to run in alower resolution mode. If that still fails, the installation program will run in text mode.

Users who have video cards that will not run at 800 x 600 resolution should type lowres at theboot: prompt to run the installation program in 640 x 480 resolution.

If this still does not work, you can run the installation program without frame buffers by typing nofbat the boot: prompt.

Appendix C. Troubleshooting Your Installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 71

C.3. Trouble During the Installation

C.3.1. Partition Creation ProblemsIf you are having trouble creating a partition (for example, a root (/) partition), make sure you aresetting its partition type to Linux Native.

Unless your BIOS supports otherwise, make sure /boot does not exceed the 1023 cylinder head.If you do not, the installation program will not allow you to create a /boot or / partition. Somenew systems allow you to exceed the 1023 limit (with GRUB and the newer LILO versions that areavailable), but most machines with older BIOS will not.

C.3.2. Using Remaining SpaceYou have a swap and a / (root) partition created, and you have selected the root partition to use theremaining space, but it does not fill the hard drive.

If your hard drive is more than 1024 cylinders, you must create a /boot partition if you want the /(root) partition to use all of the remaining space on your hard drive.

C.3.3. Other Partitioning ProblemsIf you are using Disk Druid to create partitions, but cannot move to the next screen, you probablyhave not created all the partitions necessary for Disk Druid’s dependencies to be satisfied.

You must have the following partitions as a bare minimum:

• A /boot partition of type Linux native

• A / (root) partition of type Linux native

• A � swap � partition of type Linux swap

Tip

When defining a partition’s type as Linux swap, you do not have to assign it a mount point. DiskDruid automatically assigns the mount point for you.

C.3.4. Are You Seeing Python Errors?During some installations of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, the installation program (also known asAnaconda) may fail with a Python or traceback error. This error may occur after the selection ofindividual packages or while trying to save the upgrade log in /tmp. The error may look similar to:

Traceback (innermost last):File "/var/tmp/anaconda-7.1//usr/lib/anaconda/iw/progress_gui.py",

line 20, in runrc = self.todo.doInstall ()

File "/var/tmp/anaconda-7.1//usr/lib/anaconda/todo.py", line 1468, indoInstall

self.fstab.savePartitions ()File "fstab.py", line 221, in savePartitionssys.exit(0)

SystemExit: 0


Local variables in innermost frame:self: � fstab.GuiFstab instance at 8446fe0 �sys: � module ’sys’ (built-in) �

ToDo object:(itodoToDop1(dp2S’method’p3(iimageCdromInstallMethodp4(dp5S’progressWindow’p6

� failed �

This error occurs in some systems where links to /tmp are symbolic to other locations or have beenchanged since creation. These symbolic or changed links are invalid during the installation process,so the installation program cannot write information and fails.

If you experience such an error, first try to download any available errata for Anaconda. Errata canbe found at http://www.redhat.com/support/errata.

You can also search for bug reports related to this problem. To search the Red Hat bug tracking system,go to http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla.

Finally, if you are still facing problems related to this error, register your product and contact oursupport team. To register your product, go to http://www.redhat.com/apps/activate.

C.4. Problems After Installation

C.4.1. Trouble With the Graphical GRUB Screen?If, for some reason, you need to disable the graphical boot screen, you can do so, as root, by editingthe /boot/grub/grub.conf file and then rebooting your system.

To do this, comment out the line which begins with splashimage in the grub.conffile. To commentout a line, insert the ; character at the beginning of the line.

Once you reboot, the grub.conf file will be reread and your changes will take place.

You may re-enable the graphical boot screen by uncommenting (or adding) the above line back intothe grub.conf file and rebooting.

C.4.2. Trouble With the Graphical LILO Screen?If, for some reason, you need to disable the graphical boot screen, you can do so, as root, by editingthe /etc/lilo.conf file and then rerunning LILO.

First, as root, comment out (or delete) the line which reads message=/boot/message in the/etc/lilo.conf file. To comment out a line, insert the ; character at the beginning of the line.Next, rerun LILO by typing /sbin/lilo -v. The next time you boot, you will see the text LILO:prompt, as used in previous Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES releases.


You may re-enable the graphical boot screen by adding the above line back into the lilo.conf fileand rerunning LILO.

C.4.3. Problems with Server Installations and XIf you performed a server installation and you are having trouble getting X to start, you may not haveinstalled the X Window System during your installation.

If you want the X Window System, you can perform an upgrade to install X. During the upgrade,select the X Window System packages, and choose GNOME, KDE, or both.

Alternatively, you can install the XFree86 RPMs. For more information, refer tohttp://www.redhat.com/support/docs/howto/XFree86-upgrade/XFree86-upgrade.html.

C.4.4. Problems When You Try to Log InIf you did not create a user account during the installation you will need to log in as root and use thepassword you assigned to root.

If you cannot remember your root password, you will need to boot your system as linux single atthe LILO boot: or GRUB prompt. Then at the # prompt, you will need to type passwd root, whichwill allow you to enter a new password for root. At this point you can type shutdown -r now andthe system will reboot with your new password.

If you cannot remember your user account password, you must become root. To become root, type su- and enter your root password when prompted. Then, type passwd � username � . This allows youto enter a new password for the specified user account.

If you selected either the Custom or Server installation and do not see the graphical login screen,check your hardware for compatibility issues. The Hardware Compatibility List can be found athttp://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/.

C.4.5. Does Netscape Navigator Crash on JavaScript Pages?If Netscape Navigator continuously crashes on pages that contain JavaScripts, you may need to edityour ~/.mailcap file.

Edit the file using pico by typing pico ~/.mailcap at the prompt in a terminal window. (You mayuse any text editor.)

Remove the following lines from the file:

application/x-javascript;;\x-mozilla-flags=save

You can also turn off JavaScript within Netscape Navigator itself. Click onEdit=>Preferences=>Advanced and make sure the Enable JavaScript checkbox is not selected.

If these do not help, you can also try to use a newer version of Netscape Navigator if available. Checkthe Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES errata website under security advisories for more information.

C.4.6. Your Printer Will Not Work Under XIf you are not sure how to set up your printer or are having trouble getting it to work properly, try usingthe graphical printconf program. Log in as root, open a terminal window, and type printconf-gui.


C.4.7. Is Your RAM Not Being Recognized?Sometimes, the kernel does not recognize all of your memory (RAM). You can check this with thefollowing command:

cat /proc/meminfo

Find out if the displayed quantity is the same as the known amount of RAM in your system. If theyare not equal, add the following line to the /boot/grub/grub.conf or /etc/lilo.conf file,depending on the boot loader you installed:

append="mem=xxM"

Replace xx with the amount of RAM you have in megabytes. Remember that per-image appendlines completely overwrite the global append line. It might be worth adding this to the per-imagedescriptions, as shown in this example:

append="mem=128M"

In /boot/grub/grub.conf, the above example would look similar to the following:

#NOTICE: You have a /boot partition. This means that# all kernel paths are relative to /boot/default=0timeout=30splashimage=(hd0,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gztitle Red Hat Linux (2.4.6-2)

root (hd0,0)kernel /vmlinuz-2.2.6-2 ro root=/dev/hda3append="mem=128M"

Once you reboot, the changes made to grub.conf will be reflected on your system.

In /etc/lilo.conf, the above example would look similar to the following:

boot=/dev/sdamap=/boot/mapinstall=/boot/boot.bprompttimeout=50

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.12-20label=linuxroot=/dev/sda1initrd=/boot/initrd-2.2.12-20.imgread-onlyappend="mem=128M"

Remember to run /sbin/lilo -v after changing /etc/lilo.conf.

Note that you can also produce the same effect by actually passing this option when you are specifyingthe label/image to use in GRUB or LILO. For example if you had a label named linux, at the bootloader menu you could type:

linux mem=xxM

Remember to replace xx with the amount of RAM in your system.


C.4.8. Problems with Sound ConfigurationIf you do not have sound after your installation, you may need to run the sound configuration utility.As root, type sndconfig in a terminal window.

Note

sndconfig must be run in runlevel 3. More information about runlevels can be found in the OfficialRed Hat Linux Reference Guide, in chapter Boot Process, Init, and Shutdown.

If the sndconfig application does not help, you may need to select the Enable sound serverstartup option under the Multimedia=>Sound in the GNOME Control Center.

To do this, click on Panel=>Programs=>Settings=>GNOME Control Center to launch theGNOME Control Center. In the GNOME Control Center, select the Sound submenu of theMultimedia menu. On the right, a General sound menu will appear. Select Enable soundserver startup and then click OK.

Appendix D.

An Introduction to Disk Partitions

Disk partitions are a standard part of the personal computer landscape and have been for quite sometime. However, with many people purchasing computers featuring preinstalled operating systems,relatively few people understand how partitions work. This chapter attempts to explain the reasonsfor and use of disk partitions so the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation will be as simple andpainless as possible.

If you are reasonably comfortable with disk partitions, you could skip ahead to Section D.1.4, formore information on the process of freeing up disk space to prepare for a Red Hat Enterprise Linux ESinstallation. This section also discusses the partition naming scheme used by Linux systems, sharingdisk space with other operating systems, and related topics.

D.1. Hard Disk Basic ConceptsHard disks perform a very simple function — they store data and reliably retrieve it on command.

When discussing issues such as disk partitioning, it is important to know a bit about the underlyinghardware. Unfortunately, it is easy to become bogged down in details. Therefore, we will use a simpli-fied diagram of a disk drive to help explain what is really happening when a disk drive is partitioned.Figure D-1, shows a brand-new, unused disk drive.

Figure D-1. An Unused Disk Drive

Not much to look at, is it? But if we are talking about disk drives on a basic level, it will do. Saythat we would like to store some data on this drive. As things stand now, it will not work. There issomething we need to do first. . .

78 Appendix D. An Introduction to Disk Partitions

D.1.1. It is Not What You Write, it is How You Write ItExperienced computer users probably got this one on the first try. We need to format the drive. For-matting (usually known as "making a filesystem") writes information to the drive, creating order outof the empty space in an unformatted drive.

Figure D-2. Disk Drive with a Filesystem

As Figure D-2, implies, the order imposed by a filesystem involves some trade-offs:

• A small percentage of the drive’s available space is used to store filesystem-related data and can beconsidered as overhead.

• A filesystem splits the remaining space into small, consistently-sized segments. For Linux, thesesegments are known as blocks. 1

Given that filesystems make things like directories and files possible, these tradeoffs are usually seenas a small price to pay.

It is also worth noting that there is no single, universal filesystem. As Figure D-3, shows, a diskdrive may have one of many different filesystems written on it. As you might guess, different filesys-tems tend to be incompatible; that is, an operating system that supports one filesystem (or a handfulof related filesystem types) may not support another. This last statement is not a hard-and-fast rule,however. For example, Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES supports a wide variety of filesystems (includ-ing many commonly used by other operating systems), making data interchange between differentfilesystems easy.

1. Blocks really are consistently sized, unlike our illustrations. Keep in mind, also, that an average disk drive

contains thousands of blocks. But for the purposes of this discussion, please ignore these minor discrepancies.

Appendix D. An Introduction to Disk Partitions 79

Figure D-3. Disk Drive with a Different Filesystem

Of course, writing a filesystem to disk is only the beginning. The goal of this process is to actuallystore and retrieve data. Let us take a look at our drive after some files have been written to it.

Figure D-4. Disk Drive with Data Written to It

As Figure D-4 shows, 14 of the previously-empty blocks are now holding data. However, by simplylooking at this picture, we cannot determine exactly how many files reside on this drive. There maybe as few as one or as many as 14 files, as all files use at least one block and some files use multipleblocks. Another important point to note is that the used blocks do not have to form a contiguousregion; used and unused blocks may be interspersed. This is known as fragmentation. Fragmentationcan play a part when attempting to resize an existing partition.


As with most computer-related technologies, disk drives changed over time after their introduction. Inparticular, they got bigger. Not larger in physical size, but bigger in their capacity to store information.And, this additional capacity drove a fundamental change in the way disk drives were used.

D.1.2. Partitions: Turning One Drive Into ManyAs disk drive capacities soared, some people began to wonder if having all of that formatted spacein one big chunk was such a great idea. This line of thinking was driven by several issues, somephilosophical, some technical. On the philosophical side, above a certain size, it seemed that the ad-ditional space provided by a larger drive created more clutter. On the technical side, some filesystemswere never designed to support anything above a certain capacity. Or the filesystems could supportlarger drives with a greater capacity, but the overhead imposed by the filesystem to track files becameexcessive.

The solution to this problem was to divide disks into partitions. Each partition can be accessed as if itwas a separate disk. This is done through the addition of a partition table.

Note

While the diagrams in this chapter show the partition table as being separate from the actual diskdrive, this is not entirely accurate. In reality, the partition table is stored at the very start of the disk,before any filesystem or user data. But for clarity, we will keep it separate in our diagrams.

Figure D-5. Disk Drive with Partition Table

As Figure D-5 shows, the partition table is divided into four sections. Each section can hold theinformation necessary to define a single partition, meaning that the partition table can define no morethan four partitions.

Each partition table entry contains several important characteristics of the partition:

• The points on the disk where the partition starts and ends

• Whether the partition is "active"

• The partition’s type


Let us take a closer look at each of these characteristics. The starting and ending points actually definethe partition’s size and location on the disk. The "active" flag is used by some operating systems’ bootloaders. In other words, the operating system in the partition that is marked "active" will be booted.

The partition’s type can be a bit confusing. The type is a number that identifies the partition’s antic-ipated usage. If that statement sounds a bit vague, that is because the meaning of the partition typeis a bit vague. Some operating systems use the partition type to denote a specific filesystem type, toflag the partition as being associated with a particular operating system, to indicate that the partitioncontains a bootable operating system, or some combination of the three.

Table D-1, contains a listing of some popular (and obscure) partition types, along with their numericvalues.

Partition Type Value Partition Type Value

Empty 00 Novell Netware 386 65

DOS 12-bit FAT 01 PIC/IX 75

XENIX root 02 Old MINIX 80

XENIX usr 03 Linux/MINUX 81

DOS 16-bit � =32M 04 Linux swap 82

Extended 05 Linux native 83

DOS 16-bit � =32 06 Linux extended 85

OS/2 HPFS 07 Amoeba 93

AIX 08 Amoeba BBT 94

AIX bootable 09 BSD/386 a5

OS/2 Boot Manager 0a OpenBSD a6

Win95 FAT32 0b NEXTSTEP a7

Win95 FAT32 (LBA) 0c BSDI fs b7

Win95 FAT16 (LBA) 0e BSDI swap b8

Win95 Extended (LBA) 0f Syrinx c7

Venix 80286 40 CP/M db

Novell 51 DOS access e1

Microport 52 DOS R/O e3

GNU HURD 63 DOS secondary f2

Novell Netware 286 64 BBT ff

Table D-1. Partition Types

By this point, you might be wondering how all this additional complexity is normally used. See FigureD-6, for an example.


Figure D-6. Disk Drive With Single Partition

In many cases, there is only a single partition spanning the entire disk, essentially duplicating themethod used before partitions. The partition table has only one entry used, and it points to the start ofthe partition.

We have labeled this partition as being of the "DOS" type. Although it is only one of several pos-sible partition types listed in Table D-1, it is adequate for the purposes of this discussion. This is atypical partition layout for most newly purchased computers with a consumer version of MicrosoftWindows™ preinstalled.

D.1.3. Partitions within Partitions — An Overview of Extended PartitionsOf course, over time it became obvious that four partitions would not be enough. As disk drivescontinued to grow, it became more and more likely that a person could configure four reasonably-sized partitions and still have disk space left over. There needed to be some way of creating morepartitions.

Enter the extended partition. As you may have noticed in Table D-1, there is an "Extended" partitiontype. It is this partition type that is at the heart of extended partitions.

When a partition is created and its type is set to "Extended," an extended partition table is created. Inessence, the extended partition is like a disk drive in its own right — it has a partition table that pointsto one or more partitions (now called logical partitions, as opposed to the four primary partitions)contained entirely within the extended partition itself. Figure D-7, shows a disk drive with one primarypartition and one extended partition containing two logical partitions (along with some unpartitionedfree space).


Figure D-7. Disk Drive With Extended Partition

As this figure implies, there is a difference between primary and logical partitions — there can onlybe four primary partitions, but there is no fixed limit to the number of logical partitions that can exist.(However, in reality, it is probably not a good idea to try to define and use more than 12 logicalpartitions on a single disk drive.)

Now that we have discussed partitions in general, let us see how to use this knowledge to install RedHat Enterprise Linux ES.

D.1.4. Making Room For Red Hat Enterprise Linux ESThere are three possible scenarios you may face when attempting to repartition your hard disk:

• Unpartitioned free space is available

• An unused partition is available

• Free space in an actively used partition is available

Let us look at each scenario in order.

Note

Please keep in mind that the following illustrations are simplified in the interest of clarity and do notreflect the exact partition layout that you will encounter when actually installing Red Hat EnterpriseLinux ES.

D.1.4.1. Using Unpartitioned Free Space

In this situation, the partitions already defined do not span the entire hard disk, leaving unallocatedspace that is not part of any defined partition. Figure D-8 shows what this might look like.


Figure D-8. Disk Drive with Unpartitioned Free Space

When you think about it, an unused hard disk also falls into this category. The only difference is thatall the space is not part of any defined partition.

In any case, you can simply create the necessary partitions from the unused space. Unfortunately,this scenario, although very simple, is not very likely (unless you have just purchased a new disk justfor Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES). Most pre-installed operating systems are configured to take up allavailable space on a disk drive (see Section D.1.4.3).

Next, we will discuss a slightly more common situation.

D.1.4.2. Using Space from an Unused Partition

In this case, maybe you have one or more partitions that you do not use any longer. Perhaps you havedabbled with another operating system in the past, and the partition(s) you dedicated to it never seemto be used anymore. Figure D-9, illustrates such a situation.

Figure D-9. Disk Drive With an Unused Partition

If you find yourself in this situation, you can use the space allocated to the unused partition. You willfirst need to delete the partition, and then create the appropriate Linux partition(s) in its place. Youcan either delete the partition using the DOS fdisk command, or you will be given the opportunityto do so during a custom installation.


D.1.4.3. Using Free Space from an Active Partition

This is the most common situation. It is also, unfortunately, the hardest to handle. The main problemis that, even if you have enough free space, it is presently allocated to a partition that is already in use.If you purchased a computer with pre-installed software, the hard disk most likely has one massivepartition holding the operating system and data.

Aside from adding a new hard drive to your system, you have two choices:

Destructive Repartitioning

Basically, you delete the single large partition and create several smaller ones. As you mightimagine, any data you had in the original partition is destroyed. This means that making a com-plete backup is necessary. For your own sake, make two backups, use verification (if available inyour backup software), and try to read data from your backup before you delete the partition.

Caution

If there was an operating system of some type installed on that partition, it will need to bereinstalled as well. Be aware that some computers sold with pre-installed operating systemsmay not include the CD-ROM media to reinstall the original operating system. The best time tonotice if this applies to your system is before you destroy your original partition and its operatingsystem installation.

After creating a smaller partition for your existing software, you can reinstall any software, re-store your data, and continue your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation. Figure D-10 showsthis being done.

Figure D-10. Disk Drive Being Destructively Repartitioned

Caution

As Figure D-10 shows, any data present in the original partition will be lost without properbackup!

Non-Destructive Repartitioning

Here, you run a program that does the seemingly impossible: it makes a big partition smallerwithout losing any of the files stored in that partition. Many people have found this method to bereliable and trouble-free. What software should you use to perform this feat? There are severaldisk management software products on the market. You will have to do some research to find theone that is best for your situation.


While the process of non-destructive repartitioning is rather straightforward, there are a numberof steps involved:

• Compress existing data

• Resize the existing partition

• Create new partition(s)

Next we will look at each step in a bit more detail.

D.1.4.3.1. Compress existing data

As Figure D-11 shows, the first step is to compress the data in your existing partition. The reason fordoing this is to rearrange the data such that it maximizes the available free space at the "end" of thepartition.

Figure D-11. Disk Drive Being Compressed

This step is crucial. Without it, the location of your data could prevent the partition from being resizedto the extent desired. Note also that, for one reason or another, some data cannot be moved. If this isthe case (and it severely restricts the size of your new partition(s)), you may be forced to destructivelyrepartition your disk.

D.1.4.3.2. Resize the existing partition

Figure D-12 shows the actual resizing process. While the actual result of the resizing operation variesdepending on the software used, in most cases the newly freed space is used to create an unformattedpartition of the same type as the original partition.


Figure D-12. Disk Drive with Partition Resized

It is important to understand what the resizing software you use does with the newly freed space, sothat you can take the appropriate steps. In the case we have illustrated, it would be best to simplydelete the new DOS partition and create the appropriate Linux partition(s).

D.1.4.3.3. Create new partition(s)

As the previous step implied, it may or may not be necessary to create new partitions. However, unlessyour resizing software is Linux-aware, it is likely you will need to delete the partition that was createdduring the resizing process. Figure D-13 shows this being done.

Figure D-13. Disk Drive with Final Partition Configuration

Note

The following information is specific to Intel-based computers only.

As a convenience to Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES users, the DOS fips utility is included on the RedHat Linux/x86 CD 1 in the dosutils directory. This is a freely available program that can resize FAT(File Allocation Table) partitions.


Warning

Many people have successfully used fips to resize their hard drive partitions. However, becauseof the nature of the operations carried out by fips and the wide variety of hardware and softwareconfigurations under which it must run, Red Hat cannot guarantee that fips will work properly onyour system. Therefore, no installation support is available for fips. Use it at your own risk.

That said, if you decide to repartition your hard drive with fips, it is vital that you do two things:

• Perform a backup — Make two copies of all the important data on your computer. These copiesshould be to removable media (such as tape or diskettes), and you should make sure they are read-able before proceeding.

• Read the documentation — Completely read the fips documentation, located in thedosutils/fipsdocs subdirectory on Red Hat Linux/x86 CD 1.

Should you decide to use fips, be aware that after fips runs you will be left with two partitions: theone you resized, and the one fips created out of the newly freed space. If your goal is to use thatspace to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, you should delete the newly created partition, eitherby using fdisk under your current operating system or while setting up partitions during a custominstallation.

D.1.5. Partition Naming SchemeLinux refers to disk partitions using a combination of letters and numbers which may be confusing,particularly if you are used to the "C drive" way of referring to hard disks and their partitions. In theDOS/Windows world, partitions are named using the following method:

• Each partition’s type is checked to determine if it can be read by DOS/Windows.

• If the partition’s type is compatible, it is assigned a "drive letter." The drive letters start with a "C"and move on to the following letters, depending on the number of partitions to be labeled.

• The drive letter can then be used to refer to that partition as well as the filesystem contained on thatpartition.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES uses a naming scheme that is more flexible and conveys more infor-mation than the approach used by other operating systems. The naming scheme is file-based, withfilenames in the form:

/dev/xxyN

Here is how to decipher the partition naming scheme:

/dev/

This string is the name of the directory in which all device files reside. Since partitions resideon hard disks, and hard disks are devices, the files representing all possible partitions reside in/dev/.

xx

The first two letters of the partition name indicate the type of device on which the partitionresides. You will normally see either hd (for IDE disks) or sd (for SCSI disks).


y

This letter indicates which device the partition is on. For example, /dev/hda (the first IDE harddisk) or /dev/sdb (the second SCSI disk).

N

The final number denotes the partition. The first four (primary or extended) partitions are num-bered 1 through 4. Logical partitions start at 5. So, for example, /dev/hda3 is the third primaryor extended partition on the first IDE hard disk, and /dev/sdb6 is the second logical partitionon the second SCSI hard disk.

Note

There is no part of this naming convention that is based on partition type; unlike DOS/Windows, allpartitions can be identified under Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES. Of course, this does not mean thatRed Hat Enterprise Linux ES can access data on every type of partition, but in many cases it ispossible to access data on a partition dedicated to another operating system.

Keep this information in mind; it will make things easier to understand when you are setting up thepartitions Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES requires.

D.1.6. Disk Partitions and Other Operating SystemsIf your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES partitions will be sharing a hard disk with partitions used by otheroperating systems, most of the time you will have no problems. However, there are certain combina-tions of Linux and other operating systems that require extra care. Information on creating disk parti-tions compatible with other operating systems is available in several HOWTOs and Mini-HOWTOs,available on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES Documentation CD in the HOWTO and HOWTO/minidirectories. In particular, the Mini-HOWTOs whose names start with Linux+ are quite helpful.

D.1.7. Disk Partitions and Mount PointsOne area that many people new to Linux find confusing is the matter of how partitions are used andaccessed by the Linux operating system. In DOS/Windows, it is relatively simple: Each partition getsa "drive letter." You then use the correct drive letter to refer to files and directories on its correspondingpartition.

This is entirely different from how Linux deals with partitions and, for that matter, with disk storagein general. The main difference is that each partition is used to form part of the storage necessary tosupport a single set of files and directories. This is done by associating a partition with a directorythrough a process known as mounting. Mounting a partition makes its storage available starting at thespecified directory (known as a mount point).

For example, if partition /dev/hda5 were mounted on /usr, that would mean that allfiles and directories under /usr would physically reside on /dev/hda5. So the file/usr/share/doc/FAQ/txt/Linux-FAQ would be stored on /dev/hda5, while the file/etc/X11/gdm/Sessions/Gnomewould not.

Continuing our example, it is also possible that one or more directories below /usr would bemount points for other partitions. For instance, a partition (say, /dev/hda7) could be mounted on/usr/local, meaning that /usr/local/man/whatis would then reside on /dev/hda7 ratherthan /dev/hda5.


D.1.8. How Many Partitions?At this point in the process of preparing to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, you will need to givesome consideration to the number and size of the partitions to be used by your new operating system.The question of "how many partitions" continues to spark debate within the Linux community and,without any end to the debate in sight, it is safe to say that there are probably as many partition layoutsas there are people debating the issue.

Keeping this in mind, we recommend that, unless you have a reason for doing otherwise, you shouldat least create the following partitions:

• A swap partition — Swap partitions are used to support virtual memory. In other words, data iswritten to swap when there is not RAM to hold the data your system is processing. You must createa swap partition to correctly use Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES. The minimum size of your swappartition should be equal to twice the amount of your computer’s RAM or 32 MB, whichever islarger.

• A /boot partition — The partition mounted on /boot contains the operating system kernel (whichallows your system to boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES), along with a few other files used duringthe bootstrap process.

Caution

Make sure you read Section D.1.9 — the information there applies to the /boot partition!

Due to the limitations of most PC BIOSes, creating a small partition to hold these files is a goodidea. For most users, a 32 MB boot partition is sufficient.

• A root partition (/) — The root partition is where / (the root directory) resides. In this partitioninglayout, all files (except those stored in /boot) reside on the root partition. Because of this, it is inyour best interest to maximize the size of your root partition. A 1.0 GB root partition will permitthe equivalent of a Server installation (with very little free space), while a 3.2 GB root partition willlet you install every package. Obviously, the more space you can give the root partition, the better.

Specific recommendations concerning the proper size for various Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES parti-tions can be found in Section 1.5.

D.1.9. One Last Wrinkle: Using GRUB or LILOGRUB and LILO are the most commonly used methods to boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES on Intel-based systems. As operating system loaders, they operate "outside" of any operating system, usingonly the Basic I/O System (or BIOS) built into the computer hardware itself. This section describesGRUB and LILO’s interactions with PC BIOSes and is specific to Intel-compatible computers.

D.1.9.1. BIOS-Related Limitations Impacting GRUB and LILO

GRUB and LILO are subject to some limitations imposed by the BIOS in most Intel-based computers.Specifically, most BIOSes cannot access more than two hard drives, and they cannot access any datastored beyond cylinder 1023 of any drive. Note that some recent BIOSes do not have these limitations,but this is by no means universal.

All the data GRUB and LILO need to access at boot time (including the Linux kernel) is located in the/boot directory. If you follow the partition layout recommended above or are performing a Red HatEnterprise Linux ES install, the /boot directory will be in a small, separate partition. Otherwise, itmay reside in the root partition (/). In either case, the partition in which /boot resides must conformto the following guidelines if you are going to use GRUB or LILO to boot your Red Hat EnterpriseLinux ES system:


On First Two IDE Drives

If you have 2 IDE (or EIDE) drives, /boot must be located on one of them. Note that this two-drive limit also includes any IDE CD-ROM drives on your primary IDE controller. So, if youhave one IDE hard drive, and one IDE CD-ROM on your primary controller, /boot must belocated on the first hard drive only, even if you have other hard drives on your secondary IDEcontroller.

On First IDE or First SCSI Drive

If you have one IDE (or EIDE) drive and one or more SCSI drives, /boot must be located eitheron the IDE drive or the SCSI drive at ID 0. No other SCSI IDs will work.

On First Two SCSI Drives

If you have only SCSI hard drives, /boot must be located on a drive at ID 0 or ID 1. No otherSCSI IDs will work.

Partition Completely Below Cylinder 1023

No matter which of the above configurations apply, the partition that holds /bootmust be locatedentirely below cylinder 1023. If the partition holding /boot straddles cylinder 1023, you mayface a situation where GRUB and LILO will work initially (because all the necessary informationis below cylinder 1023) but will fail if a new kernel is to be loaded and that kernel resides abovecylinder 1023.

As mentioned earlier, it is possible that some of the newer BIOSes may permit GRUB and LILO towork with configurations that do not meet these guidelines. Likewise, some of GRUB and LILO’smore esoteric features may be used to get a Linux system started, even if the configuration does notmeet our guidelines. However, due to the number of variables involved, Red Hat cannot support suchefforts.

Note

Disk Druid, as well as the Server installation, takes these BIOS-related limitations into account.

Appendix E.

Driver Disks

E.1. Why Do I Need a Driver Disk?While the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation program is loading, you may see a screen thatasks you for a driver disk. The driver disk screen is most often seen in three scenarios:

• If you run the installation program in expert mode

• If you run the installation program by entering linux dd at the boot: prompt

• If you run the installation program on a computer which does not have any PCI devices

E.1.1. So What Is a Driver Disk Anyway?A driver disk adds support for hardware that is not otherwise supported by the installation program.The driver disk could be produced by Red Hat, it could be a disk you make yourself from driversfound on the Internet, or it could be a disk that a hardware vendor includes with a piece of hardware.

There is no need to use a driver disk unless you need a particular device in order to install Red HatEnterprise Linux ES. Driver disks are most often used for non-standard or very new CD-ROM drives,SCSI adapters, or NICs. These are the only devices used during the installation that might requiredrivers not included on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES CD-ROMs (or boot disk, if you created aninstallation boot disk to begin the install process).

Note

If an unsupported device is not needed to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES on your system,continue with the installation and add support for the new piece of hardware once the installation iscomplete.

E.1.2. How Do I Obtain a Driver Disk?The Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES CD-ROM 1 includes driver disk images (images/drvnet.img—network card drivers and images/drvblock.img — drivers for SCSI controllers) containing manyrarely used drivers. If you suspect that your system may require one of these drivers, you should createthe driver disk before beginning your Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation.

Another option for finding specialized driver disk information is on Red Hat’s website athttp://www.redhat.com/support/errata under the section called Bug Fixes. Occasionally, popular

hardware may be made available after a release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES that will not workwith drivers already in the installation program or included on the driver disk images on the Red HatEnterprise Linux ES CD-ROM 1. In such cases, the Red Hat website may contain a link to a driverdisk image.

94 Appendix E. Driver Disks

E.1.2.1. Creating a Driver Disk from an Image File

If you have a driver disk image that you need to write to a floppy disk, this can be done from withinDOS or Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES.

To create a driver disk from a driver disk image using Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES:

1. Insert a blank, formatted floppy disk into the first drive.

2. From the same directory containing the driver disk image, such as dd.img, type ddif=dd.img of=/dev/fd0 as root.

To create a driver disk from a driver disk image using DOS:

1. Insert a blank, formatted floppy disk into the a: drive.

2. From the same directory containing the driver disk image, such as dd.img, type rawritedd.img a: at the command line.

E.1.3. Using a Driver Disk During InstallationHaving a driver disk is not enough; you must specifically tell the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES instal-lation program to load that driver disk and use it during the installation process.

Note

A driver disk is different than a boot disk. If you require a boot disk to begin the Red Hat EnterpriseLinux ES installation, you will still need to create that floppy and boot from it before using the driverdisk.

If you do not already have an installation boot disk and your system does not support booting fromthe CD-ROM, you should create an installation boot disk. For instructions on how make a boot disk,see Section 1.4.2.

Once you have created your driver disk, begin the installation process by booting from the Red HatEnterprise Linux ES CD-ROM 1 (or the installation boot disk). At the boot: prompt, enter eitherlinux expert or linux dd. Refer to Section 3.2.1 for details on booting the installation pro-gram.

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES installation program will ask you to insert the driver disk. Once thedriver disk is read by the installer, it can apply those drivers to hardware discovered on your systemlater in the installation process.

Index

Symbols/boot, 25/boot partition

(See partition, /boot)/tmp/install.log

install log file location, 45

Aadding partitions, 26

filesystem type, 28ATAPI CD-ROM

unrecognized, problems with, 16autoboot, 14, 54automatic partitioning, 20, 22

BBIOS, issues related to GRUB, 90BIOS, issues related to LILO, 90boot loader, 29

alternatives to, 32boot disk, 32commercial products, 32LOADLIN, 32SYSLINUX, 32

configuration, 30GRUB, 29installation, 29installing on root partition, 31LILO, 29MBR, 30

boot methodslocal boot disk, 3USB floppies, 3

boot optionsinstallation, 55

bootable CD-ROM, 14, 54booting

installation program, 12

Ccanceling the installation, 15CD-ROM

ATAPI, 15unrecognized, problems with, 16

bootable, 14, 54IDE, 15

unrecognized, problems with, 16

installation from, 15other, 15SCSI, 15

classinstallation, 20

clock, 38configuration

clock, 38GRUB, 30hardware, 51LILO, 30network, 33time, 38time zone, 38video, 52

consoles, virtual, 11conventions

document, iCustom

disk space, 3installation, 6installation types, 5

Ddd

creating installation diskette, 4deleting partitions, 29dependencies

installing packages, 44disk

driver, 93Disk Druid

adding partitions, 26filesystem type, 28

buttons, 24deleting partitions, 29editing partitions, 28partitions, 23

disk partitioning, 20disk space, 2disk space requirements, 2

custom, 6Server, 5

disketteboot, creating, 4making under Linux-like OS, 4making with MS-DOS, 4network boot, creating, 4

documentationother manuals, 1

driver disk, 3, 12, 93creating from image, 94produced by others, 93produced by Red Hat, 93

96

using, 94

Eediting partitions, 28expert installation mode, 13, 55extended partitions, 82

Ffdisk, 29feedback

contact information for this manual, ivfilesystem

formats, overview of, 78filesystem types, 28fips partitioning utility, 87firewall configuration, 34

customize incoming services, 36customize trusted devices, 36security levels

high, 35medium, 35no firewall, 36

FTPinstallation, 59

GGRUB, 29, 33

alternatives to, 32boot disk, 32commercial products, 32LOADLIN, 32SYSLINUX, 32

BIOS-related issues, 90configuration, 30installation, 29partitioning-related issues, 90password, 33removing, 63SMP motherboards, 32

Hhard disk

basic concepts, 77extended partitions, 82filesystem formats, 78partition introduction, 80partition types, 81partitioning of, 77

hard drive install, 57hardware

compatibility, 2configuration, 51

hostname configuration, 33how to use this manual, iiiHTTP

installation, 60

IIDE CD-ROM

unrecognized, problems with, 16information

network, 52pre-installation, 51

install log file/tmp/install.log, 45

installationaborting, 15boot options

text mode, 55booting without diskette, 54can you install with a CD-ROM, 3CD-ROM, 15choosing, 5class, 20Custom, 6disk space, 2expert mode, 13, 55FTP, 59getting Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, 1GRUB, 29GUI

CD-ROM, 11hard drive, 57HTTP, 60keyboard navigation, 54LILO, 29method

CD-ROM, 14FTP, 14hard drive, 14HTTP, 15NFS image, 14selecting, 14

network, 58NFS, 58NFS server information, 58no framebuffer mode, 13partitioning, 23problems

IDE CD-ROM related, 16program

booting, 12booting without a diskette, 14starting, 12

97

text mode user interface, 52user interface, 11virtual consoles, 11

registering your product, 1serial mode, 13, 55Server, 5starting, 15text mode, 13, 51, 54

cross-reference table, 55online help, 55user interface, 52

installation classchoosing, 5

installing packages, 42introduction, i

Kkernel

options, 13, 55keyboard

configuration, 17navigating the installation program using, 54

keymapselecting type of keyboard, 17

Llanguage

selecting, 16support for multiple languages, 37

LILO, 29alternatives to, 32

boot disk, 32commercial products, 32LOADLIN, 32SYSLINUX, 32

BIOS-related issues, 90configuration, 30installation, 29partitioning-related issues, 90removing, 63SMP motherboards, 32

Linux-like OScreating installation diskette with, 4

LOADLIN, 32

Mmanuals, 1MBR

installing boot loader on, 30mount points

partitions and, 89mouse

configuring, 18not detected, 70selecting, 18

MS-DOScreating installation diskette with, 4

Nnetwork

configuration, 33information, 52installations

FTP, 59HTTP, 60

network install, 58NFS

installation, 58

Oonline help

hiding, 19text mode installation, 55

options, kernel, 13, 55OS/2 boot manager, 30

Ppackages

groups, 42selecting, 42

individual, 43installing, 42selecting, 42

partition/boot, 90extended, 82root, 90swap, 90

Partition Magic, 32partitioning, 23

automatic, 20, 22basic concepts, 77creating new, 26

filesystem type, 28destructive, 85extended partitions, 82

98

GRUB issues related to, 90how many partitions, 90introduction to, 80LILO issues related to, 90making room for partitions, 83mount points and, 89naming partitions, 88non-destructive, 85numbering partitions, 88other operating systems, 89recommended, 25types of partitions, 81using free space, 83using in-use partition, 85using unused partition, 84with fdisk, 29

passwordGRUB, 33setting root, 39user accounts, 41

pre-installation information, 51

Rrawrite

creating installation diskette, 4recursion

(See recursion)Red Hat FAQ, iiiregistering your product, 1removing

GRUB, 63LILO, 63Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, 63

rescue mode, 31root / partition, 25root partition

(See partition, root)root password, 39

Sselecting

packages, 42serial mode installation, 13, 55Server

disk space, 2installation, 5installation types, 5

SMP motherboardsGRUB, 32LILO, 32

startinginstallation, 12, 15, 54

steps

choosing an installation class, 5disk space, 2hardware compatibility, 2installing with CD-ROM, 3Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES components, 1

support, technical(See technical support)

swap, 25custom auto-partition, 7

swap partition(See partition, swap)

SYSLINUX, 32System Commander, 32system requirements table, 9

Ttables

reference, 9system requirements, 9text mode cross-reference, 56

technical support, 65how to send questions for, 68how to state problems for, 68not provided for other companies’ products, 66policy overview, 65registering online, 67signing up for, 67

text mode installationcross-reference table, 56

time zoneconfiguration, 38

troubleshooting, 69after the installation, 72

graphical GRUB screen, 72graphical LILO screen, 72logging in, 73Netscape Navigator, 73printers and X, 73RAM not recognized, 74server installations and X, 73sound configuration, 75

beginning the installation, 70GUI installation method unavailable, 70mouse not detected, 70

booting, 69network boot disk, 69RAID cards, 69signal 11 error, 69

during the installation, 71completing partitions, 71creating partitions, 71Python errors, 71using remaining hard drive space, 71

graphical installation

99

no framebuffer mode, 13

Uuninstalling, 63unresolved dependencies

full installation, 44USB floppies

booting the installation program, 3user accounts

creation, 41setting up, 41

user interfaceinstallation program, 11text mode installation, 52

Vvideo configuration, 52virtual consoles, 11

XX

configuration, 45X Window System, 45Xconfigurator

monitor setup, 47video card setup, 45

red hat enterprise linux es installation guideintroduction welcome to the red hat enterprise linux...

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